Enlightenment is Hot
Okay, confession time…. I’m addicted to TMZ.com. It’s constantly updating and consistently trashy. When I have a spare moment, I type in www.tmz.com and lose myself to celebrity and quasi celebrity gossip. I am sure it is understood, but the famous for being a rich party girl Paris Hilton is ALWAYS featured there. Now with her 23-day, and continually dropping, jail sentence announced, the photo/journalists are going ape shit with inconsequential Paris Hilton crap. Nonetheless, there is something that captured my imagination.
On May 22, 2007 TMZ.com ran their blurb “Holy S**t! Paris Turns to Religion?!” (http://www.tmz.com/2007/05/22/holy-s-t-paris-turns-to-religion/) It shows Paris walking around with the Bible and “The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment”. Weird? Yes. Next, and don’t tell me how my guys at TMZ.com missed getting me this one, several “news” sources wrote about how on May 24, 2007 Paris was spotted shopping for Buddhist literature at the legendary Hollywood Buddhist Mecca The Bodhi Tree. Now today, the TMZ.com gang speculates as to what evening class Hilton was attending at the Bel Air Presbyterian church. (http://www.tmz.com/2007/05/31/paris-like-a-prayer/)
For some reason many people are voicing the opinion that Hilton’s new found interest in religion is an attempt to sway the court or the Governator Arnold to lessen her sentence or pardon her. I have to admit, my inner catty bitch went there too, but then I took a step back and approached it again.
Paris’ sentence has already been dropped to under a month. She is going to be in a “special needs” section of the prison, with a hand picked cellmate. You know, where they put celebrities, with a cellmate who is unlikely to leak stuff to the press, and one assumes not rough up Paris. Even if Paris is as vapid as she portrays herself in public, there is no way she thinks the Governor is wasting a pardon on her. To put it bluntly, she’s going to jail and it’s going to be as much of a cake walk as time in prison can possibly be, and I’m pretty certain she knows it. So, is there any reason to put on a show for anyone? You could argue it’s a show for the court of public opinion, but let’s face it, she’s rich and beautiful, and jail isn’t ruining her “celebrity”.
I would like to propose a crazy idea. Perhaps Paris Hilton is genuinely interested in learning about religious beliefs. She screwed up in a stupid way. A potentially dangerous way. DUIs kill people. I would want to re-evaluate my life if I were in her very trashy, yet outrageously expensive, shoes. Many people find help through religion, why can’t Paris Hilton?
I know it may, and probably is, just a phase, but I welcome and encourage the spiritual seeker. If Paris Hilton wants to learn about faith, why on Earth should I poke fun or take cheap shots? (I mean aside from the cheap shots I already took?) I think learning about different belief systems and examining faith is a worthwhile endeavor. So Paris, being rich and beautiful is cool, but enlightenment? That’s hot.
On May 22, 2007 TMZ.com ran their blurb “Holy S**t! Paris Turns to Religion?!” (http://www.tmz.com/2007/05/22/holy-s-t-paris-turns-to-religion/) It shows Paris walking around with the Bible and “The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment”. Weird? Yes. Next, and don’t tell me how my guys at TMZ.com missed getting me this one, several “news” sources wrote about how on May 24, 2007 Paris was spotted shopping for Buddhist literature at the legendary Hollywood Buddhist Mecca The Bodhi Tree. Now today, the TMZ.com gang speculates as to what evening class Hilton was attending at the Bel Air Presbyterian church. (http://www.tmz.com/2007/05/31/paris-like-a-prayer/)
For some reason many people are voicing the opinion that Hilton’s new found interest in religion is an attempt to sway the court or the Governator Arnold to lessen her sentence or pardon her. I have to admit, my inner catty bitch went there too, but then I took a step back and approached it again.
Paris’ sentence has already been dropped to under a month. She is going to be in a “special needs” section of the prison, with a hand picked cellmate. You know, where they put celebrities, with a cellmate who is unlikely to leak stuff to the press, and one assumes not rough up Paris. Even if Paris is as vapid as she portrays herself in public, there is no way she thinks the Governor is wasting a pardon on her. To put it bluntly, she’s going to jail and it’s going to be as much of a cake walk as time in prison can possibly be, and I’m pretty certain she knows it. So, is there any reason to put on a show for anyone? You could argue it’s a show for the court of public opinion, but let’s face it, she’s rich and beautiful, and jail isn’t ruining her “celebrity”.
I would like to propose a crazy idea. Perhaps Paris Hilton is genuinely interested in learning about religious beliefs. She screwed up in a stupid way. A potentially dangerous way. DUIs kill people. I would want to re-evaluate my life if I were in her very trashy, yet outrageously expensive, shoes. Many people find help through religion, why can’t Paris Hilton?
I know it may, and probably is, just a phase, but I welcome and encourage the spiritual seeker. If Paris Hilton wants to learn about faith, why on Earth should I poke fun or take cheap shots? (I mean aside from the cheap shots I already took?) I think learning about different belief systems and examining faith is a worthwhile endeavor. So Paris, being rich and beautiful is cool, but enlightenment? That’s hot.
