Monday Thoughts
I have recently been reading the book Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn as my “read for pleasure” book.
It is about a girl who mysteriously goes missing.
So far, that’s all I know. I am only 83 pages in, so if you’ve read it, don’t ruin it for me!
Anyway, there was a quote in this book that really resonated with me this morning, and I decided to delve into it.
”I can’t recall a single amazing thing I have seen firsthand that I didn’t immediately reference to a movie or TV show… I’ve literally seen it all, and the worst thing, the thing that makes me want to blow my brains out, is: The secondhand experience is always better. The image is crisper, the view is keener, the camera angle and the soundtrack manipulate my emotions in a way reality can’t anymore. I don’t know that we are actually human at this point… If we are betrayed, we know the words to say; when a loved one dies, we know the words to say… We are all working from the same dog-eared script.”
Gone Girl
That was a long one. Hopefully you stuck with it.
Doesn’t that just blow your mind, though?
I can’t tell you how many events have happened that I immediately relate to a movie or TV show. Thinking, “Oh she did that, so this is how I should act for it to turn out like this…”
That’s pathetic.
Our lives are not our own anymore.
And what lives we do have are diminished by the overwhelming lack of emotions we put toward them.
We basically live vicariously through media (of all sorts) day in and day out.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want that!
So, ACTION.
How do we change that?
Here are the ideas I came up with:
Stop watching TV and movies
I know that sounds horrible, but I think the occasional movie is great! More for the social aspect than anything. Watching TV everyday though? I’m guilty of that some days, so the goal is to minimize that. Start a puzzle, read a book, write, explore.
Social media vacation
Delete your Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc accounts for a week or two. This doesn’t have to be an indefinite thing; I know I use them to stay in touch with my far-away friends. Just a little vacation can help clear your head and get you back to living in your own awesome reality.
Get into photography
Like the quote said, sometimes the camera angle and the dramatic music can make you feel emotions that reality can’t. That’s the cold, hard truth. But now, take that truth and build on it. Take your own videos and pictures of your adventures, then make them into a slideshow or movie of your own. You can add music and your own angles, plus it will help you realize how amazing your real life is, and you’ll be able to enjoy it more and more in the future.
Be present
Easier said than done! Being present, or not thinking about the past and what could have happened, or the future and what might happen, is such a challenge. I am always thinking about the next trip, the next thing I’m going to learn, the next opportunity. This is great for chasing opportunities, but not so much for living peacefully in the moment.
Being present happens rarely for me. It happens when I’m looking at a view atop a mountain, when I’m riding in a boat looking into the sunset, when I’m doing yoga, when I take a swim or a paddle in the lake. I need to do these things more often so that I can get in the habit of being present more. But more than that, I need to focus on being present in every aspect of my life, not just those little moments.
I think that comes with practice, being more aware of the fact, including meditation in my daily practices, practicing yoga more, and taking the time to calm down and relax.
Change your perspective
This can be the most challenging one. Try to change your perspective to thinking that even the little daily adventures are big life adventures. This can make your life seem more fun and exciting day-to-day when it might seem mundane (where you would turn to an exciting movie to take you away). It seems cheesy, I’m sure, but little by little, even going to the next town that you haven’t gone to in a while will seem like an adventure. And taking the time to do those little things close to home will help with this too.
My thoughts in this post are merely musings. Things that I think about to try to not get sucked into the social media world, wishing everybody else’s life was my own.
With a little luck, we can get out of that trap that Gone Girl speaks of, and we can start living our own life, magical as it is, and appreciate it more.
Cheers,
Rach
