Friday, May 18, 2007

Obsession is a dangerous state of mind

How much can you obsess over something? How far is too far? The concept of obsession has been focused on in many films, but it’s our own personal obsessions that are the most interesting. More specifically, it’s the obsessions of our closest friends that we become more interested in and want to get to the root of, whether it be as a spectator or otherwise.

Most obsessions stem from an initial interest in something or someone. In the case of my friend, it was a certain someone. He'd met a seemingly fantastic person and the initial sparks were promising. All in all, the guy was good on paper.

I forewarned my friend that despite the attraction to this guy, he shouldn’t get too caught up on the emotions in case this Mr Good-on-Paper was going to screw it all up. But despite my best efforts, my friend fell deeper and deeper like Alice in Wonderland. The promise of romantic dates, adventures across the city and simply being in a relationship were like glittering diamonds in a field of bleak solitude.

Alas, Mr Good-on-Paper let him down upon moving to Melbourne. There was literally no contact, a strange result after Mr Good-on-Paper was most enthusiastic about meeting my friend. Yet his obsession continued, we all tried to reach conclusions for my friend as to why it happened. To this day, Mr Good-on-Paper never made contact.

Which lead me to think about obsession and how far is healthy and how far is completely whack. I can understand his obsession, after all, I would have acted exactly the same if I were in his shoes – in fact, I did with the hunky waiter. But eventually he saw the light and realised that Mr Good-on-Paper was in fact a complete knob.

Recently I obsessed over someone who I had never met, spoken to or even knew of until I saw them on a MySpace page. And within minutes I was obsessed. Despite the fact that he lives in another city in another state of Australia didn’t mean a thing. I started to Google him, look at all the photos he had uploaded onto his page, read all his comments and went as far as looked him up in the White Pages. I knew I had gone too far. I was obsessed. By the end of the day, I had taken steps to avoid using MySpace again and my obsession faded faster than it arrived.

We all have something we obsess over – our hair, our look, our car, our relationship, our attraction to the opposite sex, our quest for finding Mr or Miss Right. The list is never-ending. But most of us realise the point where it should stop, as did Angus. We know that if it goes any further, that it becomes less a healthy obsession which you can joke about with friends to something with darker or deadly connotations.

Do you have an obsession? What is it? Be brave enough to admit it here.

3 comments:

Michael... said...

I'm obsessed with so many things its hard to keep track...

Music.
Boys.
Food.
Boys.
Stuff.
Boys.

Unknown said...

I dont think your friends behavour was obsessive, I think it sounds quite normal. You see someone, you talk to them, you begin to like them, you pursue that person, and then you lose them. Ah gay relationships, don't you justlove'm!

Oh and btw, your myspace obsession was me wasn't it? You didnt have to go searching through the White Pages, I would have told you my address! :-P

RRP said...

shoes. i'm obsessed with shoes.

yep, that's all. nothing witty, nothing insightful.

just shoes.

anyway, i have to go... my nonna is calling. you might have heard of her.

her first name is imelda.