Kiaran Finn on Life Matters!

Have a listen to a political debate, eliminate the spin and make sense of what's left. All truth is contextual. Change the context and the meaning also irrevocable morphs. One of the greatest delusions we inflict upon ourselves, is the presumption that there is a universal truth about anything. Yet we can literally lay down our lives in defense of an illusory ideal. Changing context, fashionably labeled a paradigm shift, used to be referred to as walking in someones else's shoes in order to understand them. Still the myth perpetuates, the belief that we can really grasp any "truth" other than that filtered through our perception lens. The degree to which an idea fits our quirky beliefs and value systems determines the label we give it. Fact or fiction, right or wrong. As we only have loosely shared life experiences, our perceptions will differ accordingly. Which eventually brings me to an observation. In a world where beliefs define our actions, regardless of their ve...

Remember your comic book heroes? Batman, Superman, Modesty Blaise, Andy Capp et al. As time progressed perhaps you evolved to Bart Simpson, or Homer, SpongeBob Square Pants or any number of quirky seriously flawed characters! As you outgrew your childhood heroes the vacuum was filled perhaps with sporting gods to replace the war heroes of parents and grandparents. Remember a time when these Parents and Grandparents were the Role models for future generations. Reinforcing Nationalistic Pride and cultural values of yesteryear. What happened? When and how did Brittany, 50 Cent, Eminem and Oprah step in to fill the breach? The cult of celebrity is at it's zenith. Ambition lives on, yet it's a tad disconcerting that achievement is becoming increasingly rated on a continuum measures cultural status and fame. The higher you rate on this Totem Pole the closer you are to that highly prized goal that is, celebrity. 15 minutes of fame? 30 seconds will do. Whatever it takes. Contribution,...

Mar 15, 2009, Rubik's Cube! In 1983 a young man, let's call him Graham Parker, as not coincidentally is his real name, walks in to a store and buys a Rubik's Cube. Wait for the punch line. 26 years later, after serious wrist and back problems due to the pursuit of solving the puzzle, announces triumphantly to the world, via every media outlet imaginable, that he's solved the puzzle. Triumph? Success over adversity implies surmounting all manner of obstacles, persisting a la Winston Churchill "never, ever give up" It's a common mantra by sensible people of the world that there's no such thing as get rich quick . Which is patently untrue. People Win Lotto, Inherit, Steal, Share price quadruples, social networking site sells for squillions. More accurately it's extremely rare, more rare than getting run over by a truck in the pursuit of dream! Which brings me back to the now "famous" for 15 minutes, Mr Parker. undoubtedly he has achiev...

Crisis what Crisis? Remember the band Supertramp? They sang "Crisis what Crisis?" the Logical Song and Breakfast in America to name but a few big hits from the early '80's. How apt is that song today? Everywhere you look, there's another story of crisis. More specifically the Global Economic Crisis. As this label gets tired, the headlines adapt. Emergency! Catastrophe! Disaster! Meltdown! Climax. Recession! Depression! We're at a juncture, tipping point. crossroads. What does it all mean? Should we go back to bed for a couple of years until it all blows over? Yet I'm wary of buying into labels that define my life expectations . Someone you know, is currently enjoying possibly the best day of their life. Someone else (unlikely to be the same individual) is alas enduring the worst day of their life. -Unless the mother-in-law has just driven off a cliff in his new Ferrari! The above experience in fact mirrors the experiences of tens of millions of individ...

A Weighty Issue Is there a more emotive topic regarding self concept than weight. More specifically ideal body weight ? There is a media driven obsession with defining the ideal body, actually the obsession is the selling of magazines.books, TV shows and so forth. There seems to be a bizarre attraction-repulsion with modeling ourselves on the image of pseudo celebrities that we don't even admire, yet feel compelled to measure up against. A dose of emotion, inspiration, adversity and voyeurism, contributes to the ongoing success of shows such as The Biggest Loser . The massive contradiction within Western societies' attraction to the ideal self as epitomised by the latest red carpet spokesperson is how abject our failure to measure up actually is. These role models that so inspire us to join the gym, enroll in pilates and spurn the nightly glass or bottle of wine, lurch from bulimia to anorexia as often as they change lovers. Who wants to be a Super Model? Is there a ...

What's the BIG Secret? A few years ago there was a tipping point in the personal development pop psychology publishing world. The release of Rhonda Byrne' s book "The Secret" with more than a little help from Oprah created a feeding frenzy of interest, discussion and almost religious zeal in extolling its message. There were echoes of the Blair Witch Project . You just had to investigate, what all the fuss was about. Yep, it was all about the magic of hype and uncovering THE SECRET. Secrets sell.For those of you that remember the early 80,s "Who Shot JR?" was a cultural phenomenom with no apparent logic. Which brings me belatedly to my point. Why are we consumers so seduced again and again by the promise of witheld answers, that we are willing to part with much hard earned coin and emotional energy for THE ANSWER? The success of any soap opera is dependent on the producers never answering a question, without posing at least another even more vexing ...