Bill Hicks the Comedian
Bill Hicks was an American comedian and social critic who died of pancreatic cancer in 1994. He had a dark humor and a philosophical edge that at times really made you think - about life and about society. He often criticized societal issues such as war, politics and religion. He hated marketing and often went on rants about how people in marketing were the scum of the earth and that they were Satan helpers. He often suggested that individuals in the marketing profession should do us all a favor and just kill themselves. It’s a harsh sentiment but I personally think that he was bitter about the over commercialization of humanity.
Actually, I tend to agree that in today's society we have a tendency to put a dollar figure on every aspect of our lives and in doings so we lose a part of ourselves. Perhaps our soul?
A Love for Humanity
Hicks was also a bit of a walking contradiction. Despite his dark humor he often preached about compassion for humanity. He often suggested that all humans share the experience of God whether they knew it or not. In his mind, God was a manifestation of a singular energy that permeates all existence. I think that he believed that God is the energy that we call love. Not love in a romantic sense, but more as an energy.
For me personally, the most important message that Hicks shared with the world was the idea of not taking life too seriously. I think that this sentiment is summed up nicely in one of my favorite Hick's quotes about life being “just a ride.”
Quote: “This is just a ride.”
"The world is like a ride in an amusement park and when you choose to go on it, you think its real because that's how powerful our minds are. The ride goes up and down, around and around, it has thrills and chills, and its very brightly colored, and its loud, and its fun for a while. Many people have been on the ride a long time and they begin to wonder,
Hey is this real, or is this just a ride?
And other people come back to us and and say
Hey don't worry, don't be afraid - ever, because this is just a ride.
But we kill those people.
Hey shut him up! I've got a lot invested in this ride, shut him up! Look at my furrows of worry, look at my big bank account, and my family. This has to be real!
But it’s just a ride.
But we always kill the good guys, the ones who try to tell us that. Ever notice that? But it doesn't matter because it’s just a ride. And we can change it anytime if we want to. It’s only a choice. No effort, no work, no job or savings of money. Just a simple choice right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your doors, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love instead see all of us as one.”
Bill Hicks
Rambling Explanation
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I think that Bill Hicks offers us a pretty insightful outlook on life and reality and it really makes me wonder - how does a person come to such a conclusion that “life is just a ride” and why don’t we all see the world this way? Why don’t we see the world and our lives for what they truly are? – a brief experience within the physical realm of a much larger reality.
For one thing, as Hicks suggests, our minds are very powerful. Our minds make us believe that our human existence is very real and also very important. Our minds create a sense of self in order to protect us and to keep us moving forward. Our minds keep us grounded in reality and limits our exposure to the vastness that exists beyond our individual perspective.
However, beyond or senses there is an entire realm of metaphysical wonder. But we don’t have access to it, so most of us can only guess at it. Many of us are so absorbed in this life that we don’t even question what’s beyond what we can physically see with our own eyes and so we get caught up in the physical reality of the "the ride."
Some people though, are able to see beyond the physical reality, whether its through drugs, meditation, dreams...etc and they share their experience with others. Are these experiences real or are they constructs of an individuals mind?
Don’t Take Life Too Seriously
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I think the overall message that Bill Hicks was trying to make is to not take this life too seriously. Ultimately our lives are short and individually are lives don’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. There were many people before us and there will be even more people to come after us and because of that fact, I think that it’s important that we maintain our sense of humanity. It’s important to work together and to make this world a better place, not only for ourselves but for generations to come.
What do you think? Feel free to comment and share your own thoughts.
