The Parallel Society
Decadence - “[uncountable] (disapproving) behaviour, attitudes, etc. that show a fall in standards, especially moral ones, and an interest in pleasure and fun rather than more serious things.”
Based on the above definition, finding examples of decadence in a society such as ours (at this time of writing) can't be difficult to come by. At least it's not difficult for me. Everywhere I turn, I see a consistent stream of contradictions that forces me to turn back to my turtle shell and not trust.
People, business structures, processes - at times the easy route out would be to simply say, "what's the point" and walk away. You may argue and say that's the "coward's way" out, but if you've read this far in this article, I can only assume you have the slightest idea on where I'm coming from.
One minute you're told one thing, the next you're informed of something different - the difficulty is keeping your sanity amongst all of this. The decadent contradictions that we interface with on a day-to-day basis forces us to search elsewhere for a sense of meaning, belonging and fulfillment. After all the stresses that we deal with daily, how much of that time was actually spent for yourself?
"Following society’s rules, doing what the world expects of you –
serving your master – this is all considered sane. This is the status
quo. What benefits does this give us? A company car, social status,
public acceptance, but all at a cost: your life. But quitting your job,
showing your master the middle finger, committing yourself to ideals
– this is considered insane, but what can you gain from this? Your
life." DRAX, Nwimo, Ikenna
The parallel society that I'm leading up to, is a society that is equidistant to the world that we know. This is a world where you create your own rules - all within the legal confines of what is presently known as the material world.
You are on your path and you can craft whatever persona you wish to become out of yourself. This is the true beauty of it all. Yes, you can be whoever you want to be based on whatever agreement you made out of yourself. This is The Parallel Society.
This is also how Blaque Falcon was conceived. It initially came out of anger, frustration and most of all confusion. I saw the fraud that was all around me and decided to describe it in some shape through my first novel DRAX. Then I expanded my interests and got into clothing too - I'm inspired by plush living, royalty, confidence and being the best person you can possibly be. This is all in spite of the difficulties we all face.
Authenticity is the golden ticket to standing out - for no one can be better than you at being you, so run with that and you can never lose. Being authentic in a world full of illusions and disappointment immediately stands you out among all the "tricknology" that plagues our world today.
Life never happens to you, it is simply responding to you. Quit reacting and start summoning.
Love and Light.
Ikenna