Starve your distractions
As a society we place a lot of emphasis on the things we nurture to define how we spend our time. How we spend our time equates to who we are and what we represent. We are essentially a consumer society to it makes sense that we would measure our worth by our consumption.
But maybe what we consume is actually what consumes us and therefore diminishes our most valuable commodity- time. When you meet somebody new the first thing they will ask you is: “what do you do?”. You’re not asked: “what do you stand for?, what do you believe?, what makes you happy?”. The question is framed in the context of action and contribution because the assumption is that we are adding to the world. Typically we are making, building, creating, and servicing. It would be unfathomable to think that somebody was reducing or eliminating from the world unless they were eradicating world hunger or working in environmental protection.
What if we started with what we didn’t spend our time on ? If we led with what we refused to consume, like listing our dietary preferences at the restaurant. Instead of feeding a narrative built on more, how might we celebrate the idea of doing less. Instead of “this is what I do”, how about “this is what I don’t”.
Only until we begin to starve our distractions can we achieve a form of minimalism that paves the way towards focus and purpose. I’m not suggesting that we all become monks but I do think that who we really are might be lost among all the things we do and attach to. Much of that time is spent exhausted our limited resources in the moment between our moments.
I am not the next TikTok dance video. I am not the 17 minutes spent scrolling while waiting for my uber. I am not the show I binge watched on a Wednesday evening. I am not the next Amazon delivery to my home. I am not my commute.
I am the morning, a walk in the forest, a meditation, a written letter, a cold swim, a gift given, a hand held.
Like ancient sculptures from marble or bronze, we are the edit. Defined by what is removed chisel stroke by chisel stroke. Only by starving our distractions can we feed our souls.
