The world at times can be a pretty scary place to live, especially when most of us have been raised to believe in well intentioned fairytales, that give rise to utopian perceptions, like the prince always saves the girl; kindness and integrity are always rewarded and recognized; and the good guys always win, thus absolving us of any real personal responsibility to take meaningful action to create positive change.
It’s a very intoxicating and alluring notion, but as we get older we begin to discover these stories are just myths. Many people, however, simply replace these childhood fantasies and illusions with their adult counterparts; Hollywood films featuring the proverbial prince saving the day are all too common. Love stories with a sweet intoxicating happy ending are guaranteed, and no matter what happens – no matter how bad it may get – we can always be sure the good guys will always win; which is an illusion that is also featured prominently in politics and in many religions, once again freeing us from any personal responsibility because someone else will clean up the mess and save the day.
Unfortunately these stories are simply not true when we take an objective look at our society my friends. Bad things often times happen to good people, injustice and corruption often dominate our world, and although Santa rewards those who are good, this system often rewards those who are bad. Worse still, some of the kindest and most altruistic people on the planet struggle financially, or are even homeless, and sadly the good guys don’t always win. Unfortunately, it’s much easier for us to simply believe that a hero will save us all, than the inconvenient struggle of having to save ourselves – both individually and collectively.
Now, I’m not suggesting our children cannot enjoy their favorite fairytales, or we cannot watch our favorite movies, since they have the power to inspire us to hope and dream, and think beyond our circumstances, and even teach us important life lessons, but a clear distinction needs to be made between fantasy and reality, and that is what inspired me to share these images that I collected from around the internet.
If you have the ability to communicate intelligently with your children, and you feel as though they are mature enough, these images may be helpful to teach them about some of the issues we face in society. I believe we have a duty to teach them the Truth, so that they will learn early what took us far too long to figure out.
“It Is Health That Is True Wealth, And Not Pieces Of Gold & Silver”
Artist Credit: Steve Cutts
Teach them about the importance of physical exercise, and eating healthy, and how they are directly linked to happiness and overall wellbeing.
We only get one body, so we must take good care of it. It does not matter how much money we make, how many friends we have, or how cool we might look to others, if we are unhealthy or sick, we cannot be truly happy or successful in life.
Artist Credit: Caldwell Tanner
You Are Responsible For Your Own Happiness
Artist Credit: Dina Goldstein
Teach them that getting involved in a relationship without fully knowing who someone is, is foolish. Just because you met someone and felt feelings of infatuation does not mean “it was meant to be,” and it doesn’t guarantee you will live “happily ever after” just because you saw it in a movie.
Artist Credit: Steve Cutts
First learn about who you are, your dreams, your hopes and your desires. Most of us don’t even understand ourselves, and we have our own issues, but instead of fixing our insecurities and problems we expect someone else to do it for us.
First develop a relationship with yourself and learn how to make yourself happy, or you’ll end up in a relationship where both of you eventually are sad.
How We React To Bad Times Determines Our Future
Artist Credit: Jose Rodolfo Loaiza Ontiveros
Teach them they will experience heart break, and pain in life, that much is certain. How we choose to react to these struggles, however, is a choice. If we choose to respond intelligently, we will develop the habit to handle our problems and drama in life intelligently, and will grow stronger and wiser because of it. But if we react foolishly, by turning to alcohol, drugs, and other similar temporary escapes, we will only create more problems for ourselves.
Animal Cruelty
Artist Credit: Tom Ward
Teach them that animals value their freedom just as much as we do, and if we do not advocate for their freedom, then we are indirectly supporting their slavery.
Artist Credit: NostalgicChills
Teach them about where those fashionable fur coats and designer clothes really come from…
Artist Credit: Saint Hoax
Happiness Comes From Within
Artist Credit: Jose Rodolfo Loaiza Ontiveros
Teach them that what they see on TV and magazines is often time PhotoShopped and fake. And that happiness and sadness, peace and stress, confidence and insecurity, are all feelings that can only come from within, so we must focus on developing our inner strength, and learning to control ourselves from the inside, instead of obsessing over our external image which ironically tends to just amplify the feelings of insecurity and not being good enough.
Artist Credit: Jose Rodolfo Loaiza Ontiveros
Teach them that real strength comes from within us, and has nothing to do with how we look on the outside.
There Are Bad People In This World
Artist Credit: Jose Rodolfo Loaiza Ontiveros
Teach them that there are unfortunately some bad people in this world who pretend to be good, and the only way we can actually discover who they really are is not by looking at them, or what job they do, but by observing their actions and behavior very closely, because they are experts at hiding their true intentions. We must teach them about personal boundaries and space, so that no one sexually violates them without them understanding because they are too young.
Make them aware that they can always trust you and speak to you, no matter what happens, even if they are threatened. Your children must always feel safe to talk to you about anything without fearing an emotional irrational aggressive reaction. Teach them that these bad people only have power when good people remain silent or do not stand up against them, and the way they can stand up is by coming to you as a parent and always being honest and open with you. It is our job as adults to believe our kids, regardless of how crazy their claims may seem we must listen and investigate, because if a child is dismissed one time, they may never tell anyone again.
Often times we want to shelter our children from the evils of this world, but that will only leave them unprepared and easy prey for those who mean to do them harm. This can also result in a lifetime of trauma and pain, and sometimes even suicide. No, educate them and empower them on how to deal with the darkness of this world intelligently and calmly. If they do not learn about this from their own parent, who will teach them?
We All Have A Duty To Take Care Of This Beautiful Planet
Artist Credit: Tom Ward
Teach them to respect our beautiful planet, and that even though no one can do everything, everyone can do something, and we should all try to make this world a better place.
Technology Can Distract Us From What Matters Most
Artist Credit: Tom Ward
Teach them that technology is a remarkable tool when used appropriately, but it can only put us in touch with people artificially, there is no substitute for authentic human connection, which is something we as human beings crave.
Artist Credit: Tom Ward
Teach them that they are also capable of doing amazing things that have never been done before – legendary things – but they can only achieve these goals through focus. And because they are living in a world that is drowning in more distractions than any time in known history, they need to practice strengthening their minds, or they will turn into just another consumer for the system.
Life Can Seem Very Unfair Sometimes, But We Must Never Give Up
Artist Credit: Alexsandro Palombo
As we get older, we discover that life can be very unfair sometimes – at least according to our limited human perception – and our children should be taught this lesson before life abruptly slaps them in the face with it.
But no matter how hard it gets, and no matter how difficult our circumstances may become, we must do our very best not to give up, or lose hope. Because it is through our struggles that we learn and grow, and often times find great meaning and purpose in life.
The super heroes of this world are not the movie stars and actors playing pretend on the big screen. No, the super heroes of this world are the survivors that never give up!
If you know of other artists worth sharing, please comment below.
Written by Gavin Nascimento, Founder of aNewKindOfHuman.com
