There’s this old saying: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. It’s a reminder that everything is manageable if we break it down into smaller pieces, or… baby steps. I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately as I find myself swimming in an ocean of big, sprawling ideas.
It started with one thought. Paris Hilton, of all people. The last blog post I published was about how her brand of fame shaped modern celebrity culture. I experienced some pushback from a few readers, which led me to think of doing a follow-up post about why I think she symbolizes much more problematic issues in our society. Before I knew it, I was tugging at a thread that unraveled into everything from surrogacy to coping mechanisms brought on by trauma, the avoidance of phsycial and mental discomfort and uncomfortable truths, to the deeper cultural shifts that make me want to shout into the void. Suddenly, I wasn’t just writing a post—I had the outline for a whole book, which wasn’t at all where I wanted to focus my energies tonight.
But here’s the thing: I want to write that book. Eventually. It addresses some issues I’ve been tackling for the better part of my life. But if I sit down and try to tackle the whole beast at once, it’ll for sure get the better of me, and I doubt I’ll manage to bring such a project to fruition. So instead, I’m taking the elephant-sized idea and carving it up into smaller, easier-to-digest bites.
This post is one of those bites.
Some days, I’ll write about celebrity culture and the insidious ways it seeps into our lives. Other days, I’ll talk about art, grief, or the funny little moments that make up my life. It won’t be linear, but that’s fine. Life rarely is, and my mind is too expansive to try to contain all the ideas swirling in it into one specific format. I’m not here to serve a five-course meal of perfectly plated ideas. Much less serve it all at the perfect temperature (something I’ve not yet managed to achieve… how do they manage to serve all diners perfectly hot food at the restaurant anyway). I’m here to share what’s on my mind—piece by piece.
As I reflect on all these interconnected threads, from celebrity culture to deeper cultural shifts, I’m also grappling with larger issues. Issues that have sparked dangerous consequences in the West. There’s an undeniable link between the cultural decay of the West and how it fuels the forces that threaten the stability and values we take for granted. And, while I might start with a simple thought on fame or societal trends, this larger, ongoing decay has real-world impacts — and consequences — that can’t be ignored.
So, if you see me jump from dissecting social media fame to reflecting on a walk I took through Montreal, just know—it’s all part of the same feast.
Let’s eat.
The image above was created with the assistance of AI, inspired by Hindu cosmology. The elephant atop the turtle represents the world, symbolizing the cosmic foundation and balance of the universe.
Totally Surreal 
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