What We Make "Important"... and What We Don't
Having been away for a few days — mostly because @cosmictriage and I were vending at an arts and crafts show — Monday meant my return to the usual pileup of things that didn't get done because I was out of the loop for three days.
Excavating the pile of stuff that was waiting for me — much of it in the form of notifications from one website or another about something that's happening that I need to take action on — made me realize to what extent the world is profoundly selfish (or narcissistic) in the sense that it assumes that whatever "they" are expecting us to be interested in clearly must be the only thing we do.
Why on Earth would we give time to anything else?
What I mean by that is a result of noticing the subtle subtext in all these irritating notices that I'm "being penalized" because I didn't check in here or there for 24 hours, 48 hours or whatever... the underlying assumption being that the only thing on my mind surely must to constantly check in with them.
Newsflash! "You're just not that important!"
And yet, that is how a great and growing portion of the world operates. We're supposed to be "tied" to these things and if we don't follow up on — and agreed to be tied to — these things, we end up losing out in some fashion or another.
Sure, maybe nothing horrible actually happens to us but we lose out in the sense that our lives perhaps become less convenient and more expensive — both financially and in terms of time.
The underlying idea that made me really sit back and think about it was the fact that this all looks a lot like a deliberate attempt to get people addicted to stuff. Which I find kind of offensive on a number of different levels. Which is probably naive of me, but there it is!
Perhaps its an area in which I am overly sensitive, having grown up with a mother who was a "functional" alcoholic and a father with a gambling problem. I just don't dig things that "require" me to be plugged in 24/7 in order to be allowed to "play the game."
So sue me...
So what do we make important? An important part of the journey for me has always been the freedom to live authentically, even if that life bears little resemblance to the publicly purveyed definition of "the good life" or what we are supposed to strive for as the ideal of success.
It seems odd — at least to me — that people so often are almost afraid to share what they authentically dream of, lest they be "judged" in the court of public opinion.
Of course, not everyone actually knows what they want. Sometimes they only know the "caricature" of what they want. And discovering the truth below can be a journey of years.
And then we land somewhere... and it's not always where we thought or imagined it would be!
May your journey be a fulfilling one!
Thanks for stopping by, and have a great week!
Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation! I do my best to answer comments, even if it sometimes takes a few days!
Greetings bloggers and social content creators! This article was created via PeakD, a blogging application that's part of the Hive Social Content Experience. If you're a blogger, writer, poet, artist, vlogger, musician or other creative content wizard, come join us! Hive is a little "different" because it's not run by a "company;" it operates via the consensus of its users and your content can't be banned, censored, taken down or demonetized. And that COUNTS for something, in these uncertain times! So if you're ready for the next generation of social content where YOU retain ownership and control, come by and learn about Hive and make an account!
(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly and uniquely for this platform — NOT posted anywhere else!)
Created at 2023-09-12 00:42 PDT
0935/2190
You know what this post reminds me of? People that go on vacation in order to escape a hectic schedule and the hustle and bustle, only to be hit with another schedule of "events" which fill up their day. II'm the type of person that would go to the shore ("the each on the west coast, "the shore" on the east coast), lay back in one of those chairs with a cold drink, and enjoy the Sun, the sound of the waves, and seagulls flying overhead.
In short, actually relax for a change.
I've never understood why people put themselves under pressure while on vacation by7 having a packed schedule every single day. Yeah, I might sign up for an excursion or an interesting tour if I felt like it but I'm not going to be under any compulsion to do so.
The whole point of getting away from the rat race, is to do exactly that.
Yikes!
I can't abide that stuff... when I go on vacation, it is literally so I can sit and do absolutely nothing other than maybe stare at the waves, or leaves, or birds and occasionally eat a good meal.
I'm also aware that some people fill their world with "activities" because they are actually terrified of having to sit still with their own thoughts...
I believe we need to unplug from a schedule because human life is limited. Enjoy the times you are not in a rush to do something.
We definitely need to unplug... and "getting away" is actually good for productivity. I think most European countries have a much healthier approach than the USA. I don't know how it is in Canada...
It is about the same as the US, but is personal to create your lifestyle and design it the way you want.
One thing I have just learned about life and that I do all the time is to take my time to do whatever I want to do
So if I go for vacation, I always make sure that I enjoy it without allowing external things to stress me
For me, the thing about vacation is precisely that I want to stop all the running, not just "transfer" it to a new location! I have never been able to fathom the purpose of taking a holiday that is filled with schedules and activities!