Consume/be consumed
Consume - verb
1. to take in as food; eat or drink up.
2. a. to expend, use up
b. to purchase for ownership
3. to waste, squander
4. to destroy totally; ravage
5. to absorb, engross
from latin meaning to devour, to take up
We consume all day:
we eat and drink
we get in a gas powered vehicle
we spend our money
we watch tv
This takes up our time, our energy, our money-
how do we feel at the end of the day?
A lot of the time, I can feel empty from this consuming.
I feel- consumed.
While we are spending so much time consuming (using up), when exactly are we "filling up"?
The idea of consuming is that we are filling our minds with information - but where is the space for anything else, like our own thoughts, ideas, and creative ventures? Or perhaps no thoughts at all?
I've been trying to take at least 30 minutes a day to myself - no talking, no tv, no distractions - just my thoughts, or lack thereof. I do this through baths, walks, stretching, and I am astonished at the amount of thoughts that go through my head. I "work through" these thoughts, peeling them off like layers, until I get to some thoughts that have been "buried" underneath all the others. Things like:
how am I feeling?
why haven't I been devoting time to (fill in the blank, for me, it's usually creative things like photography and writing)?
what is actually important to me in life?
If I am spending all my time consuming, when will I get to these things that seem to have more substance?
These quiet times are when I "fill up." I first empty my mind of all the distractions and thoughts of the day, and then I just wait and see what turns up. It's like waiting for the storm to clear and hearing that first bird coming out of hiding and chirping. Sometimes gingerly at first, thoughts or feelings emerge, peering out from their hiding places, wondering if it's safe to come out.
This cycle of earn, consume, earn, consume, is totally valid, but isn't there something else out there that, after our basic needs of food, water, and shelter are met, can enrich our lives?
If we consume too much, we start to feel empty, because that's what we become. There's no room left for the "good stuff." You can only consume so much.
For example, a runner consumes calories. He needs food to "fill up." He eats and stops when he is full. Then he can run again.
This "food" I speak of, to fill ourselves up and not feel empty, is awareness - of ourselves, of our nature and what truly makes us happy, and how we connect with the bigger picture - the mystery of life. Without this food, we are a runner who skips a meal - after a while, we can't run anymore.
Modern life makes it so easy to consume - what have opportunity around us 24/7 - to phones, computers, tvs, stores, even our thoughts. Our thoughts can become so much that they can overwhelm and consume us. After all, it's easy to consume. As humans, we are very proficient at consuming and it becomes effortless, so much so that we forget to stop for a moment. It takes mindfulness and serenity to renew oneself. And it's in that state of renewal that we find what truly matters.
1. to take in as food; eat or drink up.
2. a. to expend, use up
b. to purchase for ownership
3. to waste, squander
4. to destroy totally; ravage
5. to absorb, engross
from latin meaning to devour, to take up
We consume all day:
we eat and drink
we get in a gas powered vehicle
we spend our money
we watch tv
This takes up our time, our energy, our money-
how do we feel at the end of the day?
A lot of the time, I can feel empty from this consuming.
I feel- consumed.
While we are spending so much time consuming (using up), when exactly are we "filling up"?
The idea of consuming is that we are filling our minds with information - but where is the space for anything else, like our own thoughts, ideas, and creative ventures? Or perhaps no thoughts at all?
I've been trying to take at least 30 minutes a day to myself - no talking, no tv, no distractions - just my thoughts, or lack thereof. I do this through baths, walks, stretching, and I am astonished at the amount of thoughts that go through my head. I "work through" these thoughts, peeling them off like layers, until I get to some thoughts that have been "buried" underneath all the others. Things like:
how am I feeling?
why haven't I been devoting time to (fill in the blank, for me, it's usually creative things like photography and writing)?
what is actually important to me in life?
If I am spending all my time consuming, when will I get to these things that seem to have more substance?
These quiet times are when I "fill up." I first empty my mind of all the distractions and thoughts of the day, and then I just wait and see what turns up. It's like waiting for the storm to clear and hearing that first bird coming out of hiding and chirping. Sometimes gingerly at first, thoughts or feelings emerge, peering out from their hiding places, wondering if it's safe to come out.
This cycle of earn, consume, earn, consume, is totally valid, but isn't there something else out there that, after our basic needs of food, water, and shelter are met, can enrich our lives?
If we consume too much, we start to feel empty, because that's what we become. There's no room left for the "good stuff." You can only consume so much.
For example, a runner consumes calories. He needs food to "fill up." He eats and stops when he is full. Then he can run again.
This "food" I speak of, to fill ourselves up and not feel empty, is awareness - of ourselves, of our nature and what truly makes us happy, and how we connect with the bigger picture - the mystery of life. Without this food, we are a runner who skips a meal - after a while, we can't run anymore.
Modern life makes it so easy to consume - what have opportunity around us 24/7 - to phones, computers, tvs, stores, even our thoughts. Our thoughts can become so much that they can overwhelm and consume us. After all, it's easy to consume. As humans, we are very proficient at consuming and it becomes effortless, so much so that we forget to stop for a moment. It takes mindfulness and serenity to renew oneself. And it's in that state of renewal that we find what truly matters.
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