Sorrow in Disguise

In The Seven Valleys, Baha'u'llah mentions that "happiness is one of the attributes of the true believer, but this cannot be achieved by a life founded on the delights and pleasures of this world. For such happiness is only transitory and can indeed be sorrow in disguise."

This morning I found out that another celebrity had passed away.  Now this may seem an odd thing to mention right after that quote, but there's a tie in.  This year has been a really sad year for the "Hollywood Elite" -- perhaps the lifestyle has always been vapid and meaningless, and perhaps, this has always been evident, but for some reason in the past year or two, it seems to have really escalated.  America's former sweetheart, Britney Spears', has had her life turn into a media freak show, which is, in my opinion, absolutely heart breaking.  That the whole world gets to watch one person's life fall apart- that so many get to make money off of this, that regardless of right or wrong decision, this young girl has been exploited by everyone in her life..it's just such an example of where our values lie.  (The fact that I even think about Britney Spears is a sad statement on me, too, undoubtedly.)  Anyway, so I've been thinking about how this girl who was a talented performer, pretty, generally normal and good humored, well-liked, and ultimately worshipped by some, has just had her entire life fall apart and downspiral.  You wonder how different things would be had she never been famous in the first place.  I'm sure she would be a much happier person right now.

Then last night a young, handsome, talented actor was found dead in a Manhattan flat.  A young, handsome, talented father of a young baby was found dead in a Manhattan flat.  Owen Wilson tried to kill himself just a few months ago.  All the celebrity "it" girls are hooked on drugs, getting arrested left and right.  

So why is it that some of the most beautiful, wealthy, intelligent (many of them are rather intelligent), talented, well-travelled, famous people in the world are so unhappy?  Could it be that their happiness is actually "sorrow in disguise"?  Ultimately, I think there are a lot of factors that go into this, but two really stand out to me.  One- the let down.  People who experience everything the world has to offer and still feel empty... what a let down! It would be so disappointing to realize youve sampled everything the world has to offer, and it's still meaningless.  What would make life worth living?  and two, and I think this is the bigger one- the ego and misplaced values.  In this world, we are constantly encouraged to love ourselves, not in the healthy way, but in the self-loving, "I am the center of the universe" kind of way.  And self absorption ruins you.  It ruins your character, is literal poison to our virtues.  We can't see past ourselves.  We become selfish and our vision so limited.  And when our happiness is based merely on ourselves- our inconstant, moody, feeble selves- how on earth can it ever last?

Anyway, my heart really does go out to some of these people and these tragic situations.  At the end of the day, it's really easy for me to read about them in newspapers and magazines, and pass judgement, but who knows how any of us would live our lives given the same circumstances.  And to watch people make ruin of the precious days of their fleeting lives is very saddening, indeed.  I hope it's something of a wake-up call to the people living that lifestyle- to do something more valuable with their resources and positions- and to the people watching- especially the youth.  To choose different and better role models, and to set their (our) sights on things more meaningful than the trinkets of this earthly plane.