The Saturated Life

A few days ago while reading an article the following quote jumped out at me “WHATEVER YOU CONSUME EXCESSIVELY ULTIMATELY CONSUMES YOU”

This was profound and took a moment to register. And register it did! And it made complete sense as I began expanding the thought based on what I observed within the patterns of my life and of the folks around me. 

I saw a plethora of things being consumed and the effects it was having on each and every one of us. Work, politics, stress, gossip, sports, fear-mongering, denial, narcissism, voyeurism, ego, food, alcohol, projection and gaslighting at scale. 

On the surface everything appeared normal, business as usual but as I reflected back I saw a steady progression and degeneration of people, bonds, associations and health. I could pin point and explain instances within me and outside of me and it was a profound moment. 

What was even more telling was the fact that these things were not just being consumed - folks were saturated to the core with whatever they were consuming. It was an obsession and shaping every single aspect of life and their navigation through it.

And then it dawned on me why whoever I speak with complains that they are exhausted, drained physically - mentally - emotionally. Why life appears a hum drum of same old same old. And to compound the matter we want to break the monotony by consuming more of the same things that got us here. Come to think of it - it’s crazy!

I could not help feel the need for a reset. I wish all of us had one of those buttons which we could activate from time to time and no I’m not talking about another glass of wine, another gossip filled phone call, another meaningless get together, another argument, more hours at work 😀

I mean an actual reset which would allow our mind body and soul to decompress and return to natural state. 

Wordsworth’s poem is relevant here - what with this life so full of care; we have no time to stand and stare…

And to get there we need a disconnect and a reconnect without saturating ourselves to the point of toxicity.

Funny how life jumps back at us to teach us what it takes to sustain it! 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Save the Child

A few months ago I came accross a definition of an "adult" as the "child that did not survive". It struck a cord with me and although cynical i saw the truth in it. The thought grew on me and i began to ponder on all the warm and wonderful attributes that we were born with but lost with the advent of time under the auspices of growing up. And the fearful fact is that every passing generation is losing the inner child earlier and earlier in life. Call it technology, call it lack of time or call it societal pressure; i see an army of beings that look like children but inside them is a mind, a brain and an emotional makeover that functions more akin to adults. When the clock struck mid night and another year came to a close; the familiar calling of the inner self to make the next year more meaningful helped me joined the dots. Would it not be nice to to retrace the steps of my own development in search of the child that i lost at the expense of the adult that i became....
Read more

Migratory Thoughts

Image
About 40 miles away from our house in Texas is a wildlife preserve called Hagerman. It is a nondescript sanctuary where oil field and lake co-exist; which one could easily miss if they did not pay attention to the brown road signs leading up to it. And yet for all its secretive existence its home to one of the most impressive sights we have seen as far as texas wildlife is concerned. Thousands upon thousands of migratory birds make this place their temporary abode enroute to warmer climes. Standing there on a December afternoon i could not but admire the amazing sight of a zillion geese first descending on the green fields for a feed and then majestically taking off for the nearby lake to avoid becoming a feed for the larger predator. I felt for my winged friends and for the arduous journey they undertook every year to sustain life. And yet i felt with the passage of time we were impeding on their ...
Read more