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The value of boredom cannot be overstated. The "always on" culture that has become prevalent in the past decade has, in my opinion, contributed greatly rising
by protonimitate 7y ago
The value of boredom cannot be overstated.
The "always on" culture that has become prevalent in the past decade has, in my opinion, contributed greatly rising angst/anxiety/stress.
We don't give our brains any time to rest anymore. Most people start and end the day by injecting thousands of images, words, and ideas into their thoughts via screens with no time to process and "clear the queue" so to speak.
I've start implementing "nothing" days once every two to three weeks. These days are spent with absolute 0 screen time. At first it was extremely difficult to detach, but after the first couple hours of the day, I start to feel more centered and at ease. Reading, talking, getting out of the house, sitting on a park bench, visiting a museum, investing time in a hobby - all these things help remind me WHY I spend so many waking hours working and being connected.
I won't ever advocate for the complete removal of technology from all aspects of life. But, as in all things, boundaries are very important.
- aswanson 7y agoYeah. Smartphones and tablets have filled up the usual breaks the human brain has had for the first 200k or so years of its existence. Always-on has to have maladaptive effect on creatures that didnt evolve with it.
- agota 7y agoThat's a great idea, I have been thinking about doing this as well, I need to just do it.
- coleifer 7y ago> I've start implementing "nothing" days omg so self-important. so humorless. edit: please downvote me into oblivion, it just confirms what i already knew
- CPLX 7y agoAfter much back and forth and introspection on this topic I just went ahead and became a Zen Buddhist. I don't think we can function as humans without regular long, meaningful detachment from all these digital tools. There's a lot of ways to do it. But I feel like everyone needs to pick one.
- Bartweiss 7y agoIf you don't mind, a question: do you believe in reincarnation? That's always seemed like a barrier to consciously 'accepting' Zen, the way one might accept Confucianism or utilitarianism or any other moral philosophy.
- CPLX 7y agoInteresting question. I would say that honestly I don’t, in the sense that I have any degree of certainty that it happens. But I also have no degree of certainty that it doesn’t happen. One of the core concepts of Zen is abandoning western concepts of duality. I’m increasingly willing to be confortable with the idea that I have no ability to conceptualize and verbalize the concept of myself existing before life or after death, and likely never will. So it’s not that I will or won’t, it’s not really a yes or no answer. More like a NaN answer.