The Deplorable Cult of ME

“The Prohibitive Rise of Self-Absorption”
Written by Rick Trottier – RJT Images
In the ancient and mythical writings of humanity, a powerful visual image was created in the form of the Worm Ouroboros, the giant snake that would eat its tail. In many a folk tale, epic poem or song was found this profound symbol of The Great Worm. The underlying allegory of a snake eating its own tail once had a positive connotation, a depiction of wholeness, totality and oneness. Over the centuries since its first appearances, this legendary creature has seen many different treatments in all forms of literature, but the oldest and purest forms of the myth were profound examples of the symbol of infinity and completion. Over time and as society and its icons evolved, the myth of the Great Worm has changed too. In the modern age, that encouraging tale of Ouroboros has been revised and reworked, taking on a darker tone, one that leaves a sour taste on the tongue. The Worm Ouroboros and its literary cousins is now the story of the creature that devours itself completely in an effort to stave off all-consuming hunger, no longer able to find sustenance from its surroundings but must turn on itself to assuage its emptiness. It is a tale of destruction and desolation more dreadful than most people can even fathom.
There are few anecdotes darker than this modern reworking of Ouroboros. It is the story of an entity that can never have enough nourishment, nothing satisfies its hunger nor fills its barrenness. No matter how much is swallowed, there will never be enough. It is the tale of being destroyed by a ravenous appetite that is beyond all control, immeasurable anguish of a soul without any chance of finding light and beauty that can soothe the spirit. The modern tale of the snake devouring itself is quite chilling in the extreme for it can be applied to any situation or any person possible. The country that consumes all of its resources, even the lives of its citizens, to feed its incessant desire for power and gain is just as gloomy a story as the talented musician who cannot get enough attention to fill the emptiness inside and so self-destructs through dissolute behavior when the spotlight isn’t on them each and every minute of the day. All it takes is looking into the grimy crystal ball of most media outlets to see stories like this at home or abroad on a global or even a local scale.
But these are grandiose examples, the kinds of fodder we see on the network news broadcasts and supermarket tabloids. The disease that is self-absorption has permeated down from our fascination with celebrities and stars to our complete preoccupation with social media and has now infected how the average person goes about living their lives. Children rarely play together in small or large groups in the neighborhoods where they live.
You can see more of this article in our January/February 2017 issue of ModelsMania