Echo and Narcissus

Echo and Narcissus are both warnings of why we should try our hardest to not be mildly annoying. Echo never stops talking so she is cursed so that she can only talk if she is repeating something back to a person. And she has a crush on Narcissus who is a certified man-dime whose hobbies include long walks in the forest and looking at his reflection in still pools of water. Anyway when Echo tries to hit on Narcissus her curse totally cramps her style so Narcissus doesnt exactly pick up what shes trying to put down. In the end Narcissus is cursed to because he is mean to Echo for repeating everything he says which I think is unfair because that would be unbelievably annoying. Narcissus falls in love with his own reflection and eventually turns into a flower and Echo I guess lives the rest of her days being way more annoying than she ever could have been before her curse in probably the most anticlimactic ending to a Greek myth of all time.

Echo and Narcissus

There was a beautiful man-child named Narcissus who was all about hunting and checkin himself out in still pools. This wood nymph, Echo, really had a thing for him, but she was also so annoying and talkative that she was cursed to never be able to speak to anyone, save to make a repetition of their statement. Echo comes upon Narcissus one day while he's hunting in the wood and though he tries his hardest to make conversation, she just mockingly parrots what he says. Little does he know she is cursed! And because he treats her badly, he too becomes cursed. He falls in love with his reflection as he walks on and is unable to part from it, he literally starves to death checking himself out. Narcissus' body becomes a sweet flower while echo becomes a mildly cool situational occurrence, but that's neither here nor there. I think this is entirely unfair, these people are essentially punished into suicide for doing one slightly annoying thing.

Echo and Narcissus

Narcissus was a very attractive man, loved by many, but he loved no one. He thought he was the best person in the whole world. One day he was just walking along and decided to stop and look at a little pool of water. In it he saw a beautiful "water spirit". He didn't recognize himself. (He thought he was the best, most beautiful person in the world, but didn't even know what he looked like? okay). When he leaned in to kiss the "spirit", the reflection did the same, which he thought meant it was also attracted to him. He reached his hand out to touch it, but his touch caused ripples in the water and the reflection vanished, and he becomes very upset. He refuses to leave the pond; he just continues to stare at it. Eventually he dies there, and a pretty little flower grows in his place.

I tried to think of someone I know that is a narcissist but I honestly couldn't. This makes me very happy. It's good to know I'm surrounded by people that aren't selfish assholes :) Anyway, I, along with the entirety of the human population, abhor the one and only Adolf Hitler. Adolf here thought he was the bomb diggity, and everyone should listen to him and no one else, and that he got to make all the rules, and he only cared about himself. Not to mention he was one of the worst people to ever live. But hey, we're just talking about his narcissism here. I guess he got what he wanted, though, because everyone knows who he is. Ugh

Conceited Much?

To get straight to the point, Echo, a nymph, falls in love with Narcissus, a human. She proceeds to pine over Narcissus until her body withers away and only her voice is left. Narcissus isn't that into Echo and drinks out of a small pond. When Narcissus sees his reflection in the water of the pool he falls hopelessly in love. Not with Echo, and not with someone else. He falls in love with himself. Narcissus starves himself to death waiting by the pond staring at his reflection. Not the cutest love story ever. At least a pretty flower sprouted in his place. However, I am not the most tolerant of the conceited. I don't have a particular person in mind that I dislike very strongly, but rather a genre of people. I cannot deal with shallow people or arrogance. Does. Not. Work. It's my pet peeve and I don't get upset thaaat easily, but man, when I come in contact with these people...not my finest moments. While I never lash out, I do become somewhat crabby for the rest of the day. 

Echo and Narcissus

The whole Narcissus story is a warning against vanity. Echo is in love with the sound of her own voice, and when she finally finds something she loves more, the only way she's able to try to express her interest is in her own horribly narcissistic way. And of course, she chooses someone even vainer than herself, and ends up pining away over him (but still clings to that one thing she loved about herself). I guess it's a warning not to be too self-absorbed or you'll never be able to connect to other people and will just live and die in your own self-obsessed bubble. Narcissus learns an even harsher lesson (though it's also possible he learns no lesson at all), as he finally knows the pain he inflicted on everyone he snubbed (Echo and Ameinious, who kills himself after being rejected). At the end of the day, neither of them were able to get what they wanted because they were too obsessed with themselves.

I love narcissistic people. if you love yourself that good for you, as long as youre not a douche about it who cares.  A person who is altruistic who I admire is my mother. She continually donates money to those in need, shes had two back surgeries but will always get up at our slightest need, and she has always been there for me through thick and thin.

Echo and Narcissus

The story of Echo and Narcissus is a story of a woman with only an echo and a narcissist. Ha ha ha see what I did there?

Anyway, Narcissus is one handsome fellow. He sure knows it, seeing how he doesn't return anyone's affections. One disappointed nymph, Echo, prays to the god of anger, Nemesis, and asks that Narcissus fall in love with himself since "he who loves not others love himself." Later on, Narcissus stops for a drink at a small pond. He falls hopelessly in love with his reflection. He can't think of anything or anyone else. He pines for days, staring into the pool and fruitlessly attempting to capture a reflection that is just water. Eventually, he starves to death by the pond and turns into a beautiful flower :)

Narcissus allegedly transforms into the flower pictured above.
Source featured on picture.

The second part of this journal prompt asks me to discuss either a narcissist I abhor or an altruist I admire. But being as unique and witty as I am (jkjk), I shall discuss a narcissist I admire...someone who has captured the attention of millions...someone I am utterly fascinated by.

That person is Kanye West.

Let's start by examining some incredibly narcissistic quotes by Kanye.

"I am so credible and so influential and so relevant that I will change things."

"I think what Kanye West is going to mean is something similar to what Steve Jobs means. I am undoubtedly, you know, Steve of Internet, downtown, fashion, culture. Period. By a long jump."

And my personal favorite. This was Kanye's response when asked about his awesomeness:

" It's only led me to complete awesomeness at all times. It's only led me to awesome truth and awesomeness. Beauty, truth, awesomeness. That's all it is."

I was considering producing a feature-length film with two sequels and a TV series adaptation with a couple of novellas and a standard five paragraph essay to elaborate on Kanye's narcissism, but I think those three quotes just about cover it.  

Kanye being Kanye

Echo and Narcissus

Once upon a time there was a lovely nymph named Echo who caught the attention of Zeus, the king of the gods. Being the philanderer he was, Zeus cheated on his wife Hera with the other nymphs while Echo distracted her. Eventually, Hera found out about Echo's deception and took away her voice letting her only repeat what was last said by another person (so this is where "echo" comes from, eh?). Sadly, Echo fell in love with a boy named Narcissus who by age sixteen had broken several hearts from each sex as a result of his beauty. Nonetheless, despite Echo's love for Narcissus, he rejected her leaving Echo emotionally destroyed. After hearing a plea for punishment for Narcissus during the suicide of a rejected lover, Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, made Narcissus fall in love with his own image after looking at himself in a pond. For a long time, Narcissus tried in desperation to possess the object of his admiration but tortured himself in the process leading to his suicide.

Oh, the Greeks love tragedies, don't they? This story was pretty depressing and though it had a sad end, it has a really solid moral foundation. Narcissism and deception are punished while the righteous, kind people like lover committing suicide are redeemed in the eyes of the gods. We see narcissism everywhere because it is a completely natural feeling that we have pride in ourselves, but everything needs to come in moderation. Likewise, no one is truly altruistic to the core, therefore emotional balance rules! Although I absolutely love political life, I find most politicians to be narcissistic and rather pretentious compared to the average citizen. On the contrary, I find individuals who work at non-profit organizations to be the most altruistic though there are exceptions to every rule.

Kind of a strange image I know but I like the realistic depiction...

http://www.coroflot.com/poligilad/photography