What gives people these days the idea that the world is obligated to provide them with entertainment 24 hours a day? Not only provide it, but also tailor it to exactly the way they want it!
What do I mean? Try asking the average person these days to sit for more than a minute without music playing or having the TV on. First thing you know they start talking about how quiet and boring it is. And people don’t seem to start out that way at all. Watch any small child playing for great lengths of time with only a toy car or doll. They don’t need headphones and videos to be happy.
Why then when individuals reach a certain age do they suddenly require artificial sounds bombarding them constantly? Are they not capable of holding an inner dialogue or contemplation of events and plans? Hey, let’s exercise our thought process a little bit people. It’s going to deteriorate fast enough on it’s own through the aging process, don’t encourage it through lack of use as well.
(Looks like I'm getting more cynical and negative every day. I promise to work on that. Anyway, the above is just my own little “inner dialogue” for the day. Please feel free to comment either way. If you feel I’m wrong don’t be afraid to say so but… haven’t you noticed the shift to this “Entertain Me” society as well?)
4 comments:
So true! You know, I was actually thinking this the other day! I was really annoyed when a student of mine just started sighing heavily and flopped down on the chair after the lessons and said, "Aaargh! I'm BORED!" After lessons we usually do our chores and help out with whatever needs to be done and THEN we go to the beach or have an activity. I just replied, "Well, if you're bored, DO something!" When I was a kid, I didn't need to be entertained all the time. My brothers and I just went out and played, read, explored...we DID things! Seems like these days, kids need to be babysat/entertained all the time. This kid's 15 yrs old so you'd think that he'd be able to do something on his own for the ONE hour between lessons and our activity :)
PS. Let me just rephrase my words first :) I don't mean kids don't need babysitters. Of course if they're under the age of majority they need adult supervision. I just mean that kids shouldn't need to be entertained by their guardians all the time. They should know how to use their imagination, creativity...and just explore and have adventures. The world and nature have so much to offer... Anyway, I'm just venting :)
Is it Taoism that tells us to just "go with the flow" and accept our surroundings as is? If something bothers us aren't we supposed to let it flow past us without harm or worry? I just find it difficult to accept/ignore some things in life, like a mosquito at 4:00 in the morning or someone with 14 earrings in their face. I guess I'm just getting old... maybe I should get a tattoo and join the crowd! :-)
Just as a follow up to my original post…
It’s not that I have a right to object to people who want to deafen themselves with blaring music, but rather that I object to them assuming that I want to hear is also. I’m sure they wouldn’t like my type of music any more than I like theirs.
Example… People who walk around with their Walkman headphones around their necks with that tinny sounding music coming out of them. Example… People with the music and bass turned up in their cars so high that you can hear them coming a quarter mile away. Example… (this is not a problem where live now but has been in some other towns) People who turn up their television sets and stereos so loud that they can be heard in a 2-block radius.
I know, I know….. Ohmmmm Mani Padmeee Ohmmmmm……
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