Life of Distractions

Posted by Andrew_Cox

Over the weekend I was at a rooftop bar people-watching with a group of friends when a guy at the bar caught my attention.  I only listened for a few minutes while I waited for my drink but his central thesis revolved around the idea that professional sports serve as an opiate for the masses and keep people distracted from “living their lives.”  I wish I had asked what he judged as a valuable use of time. He used sports as his example but it got me thinking that you could substitute any type of activity into his argument and say you were living life through distractions.  But if you can argue that being a super fan of a sports team or voting daily for the next American Idol is a waste of time, then what activities aren’t a waste of time?  Who judges what we deem a valid use of our time?  I thought about giving examples of all the different activities that must serve as distractions but I think I can sum it up by saying anything that anyone feels passionately about or spends a majority of their time doing could count by this guy’s definition.
I only asked the bar philosopher one question.  “Wouldn’t you consider work to be another distraction or opiate since people spend the majority of their days at work?”  He resoundingly concurred.  He said most people hate their job and remain in a state of discontentment because, well, doesn’t everybody?  Most people will conform to societal pressures and never venture past their comfort level, he said, because if everyone acted on their impulses all the time the larger society would crumble.  No one would perform the necessary but undesirable work needed to support our modern society.  I understood the point he wanted to convey, but I should have asked him the difference, in his mind, between living a fulfilling life and losing yourself in the “distractions” along the way.  I suspect he wanted to score debate points with his ideas, which have merit, and lead to interesting questions but I think our choices highlight our individuality.
Ultimately, I don’t think anyone can judge our use of time but ourselves.  If you want to spend your time ensuring your lawn looks immaculate, so be it.  If it provides you satisfaction and happiness then why stop?  If hockey consumes your life, you live and breathe the sport, then good for you.  Obviously people will argue with me by questioning how I can say people should just do what makes them happy.  How hedonistic!  What if killing others makes you happy?  I’m not arguing that people should succumb to each and every whim that enters their mind, but I am saying that we should spend less time worrying about how others spend their time or judging their values, and more time focusing on improving ourselves.  Focus on building relationships with the people that matter in your life and not worrying about what others think.  Who cares what the person at the grocery store thinks or the person on the other end of the phone.  It’s not like they are going to come through the phone and hurt you.  Aren’t we all just searching for something that makes us happy?  To balance the requirements of life such as work and family obligations with the selfish pursuits that excite us and provide fulfilment.  No one will remember how many miles you ran a day or what type of car you drove when you die; they will remember what kind of person you were.  Did you help your friends when they needed you?  Were you honest and tolerant of others or were you the first to get upset, the first to try and hurt others for your own gain?  Were you a person other people liked and wanted to spend time with or were you known as a jerk no one could stand?  So focus on actually living your life instead of worrying about what others think or if you’re spending your time wisely because living a life of worry isn’t really living at all.