What we consume consumes us

"That could have been done differently. What frustrated me was that it was all predictable from the start and yet, a single switch could have made it a mind blowing payoff. Why did he choose to go that way?!", I ranted my friend as I elaborated the mistakes that the director made with the movie, "He has such a platform and such a space to present himself and he chooses to go the cliched route, not even fleshing out the characters of his movie."

I ended up ranting for more than an hour all the while acknowledging the fact that none of this was productive. No amount of criticism from me in this corner of the universe would reach the ears of the director because I would never choose to talk about it in an open forum. It was a guilty pleasure movie that ended up consuming hours of my time in the end and had me wondering if it was all worth it. I had given my precious time to this piece of media and now there was no return or refund. Money could be replaced, earned back, but time...

How many times have we found ourselves down this rabbit hole?!

There are some content and media that challenge our thinking, question our knowledge and overall add to our brain power. But then, there are others that are merely frustrating. They seem to be entertaining, but as you watch them you have a bad taste in your mouth. There is something wrong with the story. You feel like you want to rant to someone. They consume you from within.

I am so very tired

Here are the words of a chosen one, one who carried the burden of the prophecy to save his world and yet, I found myself expressing this very statement at the end of the rant. Why was entertainment tiring me? Wasn't it something that was supposed to be relaxing?!

I have spoken about mindful consumption before, where the focus is on a serious project as we consume content. But what about the dead time of the day, of when we just want to kick back and relax. For a moment, I would invite you to ponder on whether what you want to consume, whether it is a movie, series, anime, book, game, gossip, etc., is worth your precious time. Know that if you engage on the nonsensical, you will spurn more nonsense. Your mind will need to expend energy to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Consumption consumes

time
energy
focus
money
happiness
direction, and
the Mind.

Be wise where you invest your focus.

Originally published on 6th December, 2023.