Everyday Canvas

Finding the Self, Emotions, and the Cosmos of the Oscars

"To find yourself." What do you think this phrase means? Write anything you want about this.

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This phrase always made me grin because, in order to find yourself, you have to lose it first.

In that case, how do you lose yourself? If the self you have is not acceptable to you and you keep living and operating from that self, it might be a good idea to lose it for it may be keeping you hostage. Then you can create a new better self that is more agreeable for your existence. That is, if this is at all possible.

If the phrase means self-discovery, however, that would be something else, since you were already there and may not have been aware of what you held inside your persona or soul. Then it may also mean learning and maturing through your life’s journey.

Frankly speaking, I never lost myself. I was always there. Sometimes, too much there. I hope, however, I learned a few things and will keep on learning and growing as long as there is breath left in me.

Prompt: What happens when we deny our difficult emotions, at least the ones we think are difficult to face? What are your thoughts on this subject?

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Anger, fear, jealousy, sorrow, etc. All difficult emotions, but are they, really? I rather like to think that they are informing us about the problem areas of our lives, so we can deal with them.

When we refuse to deal with them, or worse yet, deny their existence to ourselves, they take the reins in their own hands and explode in the most inconvenient time and place. To avoid such an occurrence, we need to listen to our emotions, even talk to them to ask why they have sprung up on us because such emotions are not meant to be repressed or to be sent away. They come up to help us respond properly to what’s happening in our lives.

We writers are the lucky ones in the sense that we can always let them loose in our writing, but one doesn’t have to be a writer to give voice to his or her emotions. There are many other ways both in the arts and in our daily lives. It is up to us to find the most genuine answer to why we feel them.

Prompt: “Our minds are big enough to contemplate the cosmos but small enough to care about who wins an Oscar,” said Dean Cavanagh.
What do you think about the Oscars and what role has the Academy Awards played in your life this year or at any other time?

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I have to say to the quote that I am much more interested in what goes on in the cosmos than who wins the Oscar.

As to what I think about the Academy Awards, when the film industry minds its own business and comes up with good movies that show true art, I may be able to applaud them. Every once in a while, that happens, but what I think is art rarely wins an Oscar. Rather, the gifting of those statues depends on the favorite political and social norms of the hour Hollywood as an entity adopts and nurtures. This is just not acceptable.

Some people watch the Oscars for the glitz and the clothes. This year, my husband and I watched them and enjoyed ourselves because some of the evening gowns were far out. I somehow wondered if this event were more for haute couture than for the movies, but it was a good experience. I thought I may use it in a story or something and filed it away in a corner of my mind.