value in society

I don't think I've blogged about this before but I have a great deal of admiration for Eminem. I realize that those of you who either know me or have read this blog might be having a heart attack, and I certainly don't want you falling over on me, so let me elaborate. I don't know him personally so I can't say I admire him as a person but, as an artist, I believe he's extremely talented and has a great deal of courage in certain areas. One of the reasons I feel people find him so disturbing is that he says things that we've all thought at one time or another. He doesn't sugar coat it or fuck around, he clearly expresses those dark and violent emotions we've all experienced at least once.

Don't get me wrong, I don't advocate the violence he condones and I realize he has *major* issues with women but here's my point: 'God' manifests in an infinite number of ways and not all of them appear highly evolved, beautiful, and loving. For someone to truly touch their pain and anger is also a victory. If you listen to the lyrics of many of his songs, that's exactly what is happening. He may not be expressing it from a high or loving place, but he's still putting it out there. That takes a certain amount of personal honesty and courage. I hear his music and although I'm often put off by the thoughts he's expressing, there are other times when I'm just amazed at his talent, the pain and the anger that he's recognizing.

I heard the song Cleaning Out My Closet not too long ago and my first thought was about how many people can relate to what he's saying but don't have the courage or the words to say it themselves. Sometimes, just hearing someone else voice your thoughts, especially in such an intense way, can be as much a catharsis as doing it yourself. It's like the flip side of the coin of the Nelson Mandela speech "Our Greatest Fear" in which he discusses how letting our light shine allows others to shine theirs. Sometimes, allowing our own anger makes it okay for others to experience their own intense emotions.

All that said, I'd like to be clear that I DO NOT advocate the behavior he exhibits or the attitudes he encourages. My admiration for him stops there. He's got his own path to follow and I pass no judgement on how he's chosen to follow it. My hope is that his continuing journey will help him work through his anger and his pain so he can begin to expand his talent in new directions.

Remember, there is value in all experience. How we respond to the different manifestations of either our own creations or the creations of others is our choice. Acknowledging what value there is even in something like violence, death, anger, and all those 'negative' things is a step toward truly appreciating the 'positive' things. Trying to deny the value in such things is a fear based reaction to something we either don't understand or something that makes us feel afraid. Acknowleding the value of an event, person, or emotion is NOT the same as agreeing with or supporting those things. The more energy we put into pushing against something, the more energy we feed it.

One last note - I have to also say that I find Kid Rock highly entertaining! There's nothing as hilarious as watching him celebrate his (self-admitted) white trailer trash heritage! Honesty rules LOL