Frozen in Time.

If there’s one thing my life has shown me, it’s to keep giving. 

I spent years of my life taking. I guess I thought the world owed me something, maybe because I didn’t have the greatest childhood, or my Dad didn’t love me enough, or whatever bullshit excuse I told myself. I was never given much, so I took what I wanted because that somehow made me feel better. I took a lot in my teenage years. From girls, from strangers, from all kinds of people. 

One day I looked in the mirror, and I realised that if I kept taking, and kept taking, and continued to keep taking, then eventually I’d run out of things to take, or people to take from, and that’s not what I really wanted, because all I ever wanted was to be loved and accepted. I just wanted people to be proud of me, and to respect the person that I am. 

So I guess that’s what growing up was for me - the realisation that the way I treated people because I was never loved, respected, or accepted by people when I was younger, could have me searching for those things for the rest of my life and still come up empty handed.

What I’m trying to say is, we all need to keep giving. Don’t let the fact that some people won’t appreciate it get you down, or deter you from giving. Don’t let selfishness destroy your selflessness. If you keep giving, no matter how selfish someone is, eventually, even if it’s on their death-bed, or in their next life, they’ll come to realise what you gave, and it might just be the turning point for them to start giving too.

We’re living in a world full of takers, and the givers are giving up, I see it every day as I walk the streets of the city. Our whole society is closing off as more and more people let the selfishness of others stop them from opening up and giving. We all end up guarding ourselves, or expecting that it’s our turn to be given to, or whatever other excuse we have.

So look at yourself and think - who am I going to give to today? Whose life am I going to brighten? Whose life can I enrich in some magical and unexpected way? Because if we don’t all start appreciating each other, and don’t keep giving to each other, we’ll just create a society full of people who expect the world to do them a favour, just because no one else ever did.

Then you could be stuck with a bunch of teenage ‘William Jiraiya's’, and I’m telling you right now, that’s a bad idea for everyone. I fucking sucked in so many ways when I was younger, but it got me here today, and for all the people who gave me a helping hand along the way, I will be eternally grateful, and I will keep giving for the rest of my life because of all of the magical people that walked into my life and showed me how fulfilling a selfless act can be.

Some people spend their entire lives taking, they expect everyone to love them simply for existing. Some people don’t even know how to give, because they’ve spent their whole lives being fucked over by other people. This sort of cycle can breed generations of self-centred narcissists, constantly taking from everyone and everything because it’s their only way to fill the empty void inside of them.

I say we need to give to all these people. Give to everyone. Keep giving. Keep showing compassion to those who you may even deem unworthy, because from what I have seen, it is those people who need it the most.

We all need compassion.

I think deep down we all want the same thing, to be loved, accepted and respected. It’s a simple aspiration and it’s an achievable one, and if everyone took the time to treat people how they really want to be treated themselves, eventually it’s going to pay off for everyone.

It’s a cliche concept, and it’s nothing new, but for some reason it’s still not a common practice in our current society so I’m writing this piece to highlight my personal view and to open up my own heart and thoughts on the matter.

I’m just a regular guy who used to be an asshole, who’s trying my hardest to be the best person I can be. I guess that’s something we can all try to do.

Watch some of the hilights from Impericon Festival aboave and check out some more videos from it below!