a false promise

 Popularity is a false promise, empty, devoid of substance. It is this promise of popularity that causes the majority of strife in the world. What's the popular opinion, the popular choice, the popular response at the moment. It changes moment to moment like tendrils of smoke rising to disappear on a breeze. In todays electronic, connected world, that has been accelerated. Going viral is one term applied. Popularity spreading like a virus, transmitted from one to another, eventually to be abandoned, replaced by the next virus. Indeed, the word virus itself implies something bad, something we catch and seek to rid ourselves of. Popularity can be like that. We've all heard the complaints from the celebrities about that. They surrendered their private lives, their thoughts, their actions, whether intentional or not, to achieve that fame. Some turn to drugs, alcohol and therapists seeking a reprieve from that. Other take their own lives. The price of popularity is a heavy toll. Fortunately it is a toll I haven't had to pay and don't expect to receive a bill anytime in the near future. It's my thinking the fortunate ones achieve fame and popularity after death.
 Fame and popularity are separate things. You can have one without the other. Yes, it is called infamy when that fame is judged a bad thing in the context of history. Consider people like a Hitler. At one time in history he did enjoy fame and popularity! The German people loved him, for a while anyway. Commodus was a very popular Roman Emperor, for a while. Like Hitler it lasted as long as he gave the people what they wanted.
 Therein is the key to popularity and fame, giving others what they want. That is the cost. What you have may begin as a gift, an offering, but others become demanding. Soon the people wish to modify that gift, embellish it somewhat, personalize it. And that is where the trouble begins. It always goes bad when you offer that gift expecting a return, as did Hitler and Commodus. The gifts were offered for their own good, not the good of others. The trouble began when the people realized that. For many that realization came far too late. Yet many have failed at learning from the lessons of the past, seeking that fame, that popularity. They are willing to surrender much in the quest for the promise of happiness. Popularity brings happiness, right? Consider carefully your response. Are you saying what you feel, or what you have been taught is the correct answer? It's tough to be honest with yourself isn't it. It is when it comes to questions such as that. Questions concerning our moral fortitude are challenging. We know the correct answer, the popular answer, and are compelled to provide that. To do otherwise will place us in jeopardy.
 John Donne penned the famous words, " no man is an Island, entire of itself " expressing the need for each of us to be a part of something bigger. Well, not a need but a reality, we are all a part of something bigger. It doesn't make any difference if we want that or not, it's the way it is. But we can choose what part we wish to be. Yes each of us require something from another, just as Donne pointed out, but we have no right of expectation from that other. Expectations are often accompanied by disappointment. And what is disappointment? Not getting what we want. Popularity promises fulfillment and that is why we seek that so readily. It's an empty promise however. The truth is fulfillment can only be achieved within yourself, on your private island. The world around you affects that island with or without your permission. Still, when you lie awake in the evening, alone with your thoughts, secure in your world, fulfillment is possible. It is not dependent upon anything else.