A World of Distractions
Whenever I find myself watching an extended marathon of Law and Order: SVU or South Park, there comes a point where I think to myself, “What the hell am I doing here? Haven’t I seen enough television for one day, possibly even one month?” The same thing happens when I get caught up reading a blog for hours, even days. I devour the archives in a gluttonous manner, without even receiving much value from it, due to the fact it all blends together anyway. Reading four hundred posts is the equivalent of at least 800 hours of work for these bloggers and I get through it in a day? I guess you could call me a blog junkie. I’m out here just looking for my next fix. Where is the next blog that can take up some of all this free time I have? Or the next television show that acts like a drug who just happens to be having marathons running every weekend?
All these activities are distractions from what we are truly supposed to be doing with our lives. It is an utter disconnect to veg out in front of the television with the intent of watching one show and then proceeding to watch until you fall asleep listening to the newest infomercial. And we all seek out distractions. There has to be something to help us forget about how badly we’re getting screwed by the system. There has to be something to laugh about after getting audited by the IRS. There has to be something I can buy to feel better about myself after my current breakup. There has to be a movie out there that will make me feel happy. This is the mindset that allows the entertainment industry to keep growing.
I remember someone who said, “People will do almost anything to avoid facing themselves.” I forget where I read that, but it makes a lot of sense to me. From observation of people (including myself), I find that this theory is true. People in need of constant entertainment, constant activity. Now I know why people freak out when the power goes out. After lighting candles, what will we do with ourselves? “I can’t have a real face-to-face conversation unless it is about one of my new toys or my favorite television show.” I think what has happened is we’ve lost our identities to an extent and we define ourselves through external possessions and through groupthink. We all want to be part of some group, some conglomerate who will tell us how to think, tell us what to do, what not to do. We are starting to become everyone but ourselves.
And I think this realization scares the life out of some of us, so we can never really face it. We always have to define ourselves by something external. We need distractions to keep ourselves from hearing the truth about our situation. But by doing this, we neglect our internal self. We are stuck in the ego or persona phase and we never delve into our true self. Perhaps it is because we do not accept ourselves fully and need to hide certain parts of it, even from our own egos. So we turn on this personality, the persona, where it is like we are playing a part in a play. And when we get home and the mask comes off, we need something to distract us from getting to know ourselves. And I believe all the entertainment industries know this and exploit us for their ever-increasing profits. But this isn’t about them.
The solution to this problem is self-acceptance. If we accept ourselves fully for who we are and not who we wish to be, then we may make some progress. If we start creating our entertainment instead of watching it on a screen, then maybe there will be some hope for us. If we start embracing our unique self instead of falling victim to groupthink, then there may be some hope for us yet. As for me, I’m going to go see what is on TV. 
April 9th, 2008 at 6:03 am
As we evolve to accept ourselves, any sense of problems dissolves. Perception is a human creation. We experience what we choose. If you grow to love yourself unconditionally, the how you sense and feel changes.