Total Media Fast: Day 6...so what do I do now?
This experiment has really given me the opportunity to examine my own habits and what I have been avoiding about my life. In one regard, it is not the absence of something to complain about that gives joy, but rather making expressing joy the focus of life in spite of the things to complain about.
I see I have turned to the news and social media to distract me from the fear I have felt about living life. And these fears not only resonate within me, but within so many other people as well. I am but a human radio amplifying thoughts based on my own experience and disposition. Not only that, but I have also turned to watching movies to distract me as well.
What about this investment of 1.5 hours of my time? What about that one? And proceed to sit or lay down in bed to watch the movie...instead of taking the time to address the mess... in the house... in my head... in my life.
And this happens. I start to choose the medium that I want to participate in. A well-chosen podcast to listen to on a walk to the store while breathing deeply. A book on permaculture to read before falling asleep. And the focus waxes and wanes as my trained mind grapples with the absence of a substance used to keep it from noticing its own addiction.
Yes, I can reflect upon this and be honest with myself. I was using social media as a means to confirm a perspective and get enraged at counter-arguments I thought to misrepresent it. I yearned for the comforting evidence that my preferred narrative was indeed the right one. An addiction to external validation by another's words through a screen. And days of withdrawal as I retrain my attention to creating joyful moments... instead of laments of the slow-motion train wreck of others' toxic narrative.
I see I have turned to the news and social media to distract me from the fear I have felt about living life. And these fears not only resonate within me, but within so many other people as well. I am but a human radio amplifying thoughts based on my own experience and disposition. Not only that, but I have also turned to watching movies to distract me as well.
What about this investment of 1.5 hours of my time? What about that one? And proceed to sit or lay down in bed to watch the movie...instead of taking the time to address the mess... in the house... in my head... in my life.
And this happens. I start to choose the medium that I want to participate in. A well-chosen podcast to listen to on a walk to the store while breathing deeply. A book on permaculture to read before falling asleep. And the focus waxes and wanes as my trained mind grapples with the absence of a substance used to keep it from noticing its own addiction.
Yes, I can reflect upon this and be honest with myself. I was using social media as a means to confirm a perspective and get enraged at counter-arguments I thought to misrepresent it. I yearned for the comforting evidence that my preferred narrative was indeed the right one. An addiction to external validation by another's words through a screen. And days of withdrawal as I retrain my attention to creating joyful moments... instead of laments of the slow-motion train wreck of others' toxic narrative.
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