I was having one of those days where I got stuck with a random thought and could not really get out of my head until I started paying attention to all that I was missing on; life around me.
We do, really, get stuck in a mental-scape and forget that life happens outside the boundaries of our so called inner-world. An appropriate word would be inner-chatter. We get consumed in our thoughts and not all of them are good, and many are just useless or irrelevant.
But that day I had an epiphany, consumption is a human problem. We either consume a lot or get consumed, there is no moderation. Look at the planet, look at human history, look at us as a species today – needs and wants can be categorised as consumption. As humans we do not just want more, we want to keep stocks as well.
For instance every other animal lives in its surrounding without modifying it much. And when hunger strikes, they hunt otherwise they just sleep or play. But as humans, modification of the natural has gone too far, it has reached a point where coal is seen as lesser than a diamond while we know that, one is an actual source of energy and the other just a stone. This is where we are not really doing any justice to the title of most intelligent species on earth.
Having been so indulged in every aspect of life, we are over consuming everything; food, drinks, substances, drugs, technology, information, thoughts, emotions, feelings. Consuming or getting consumed that is where we are.
It is true that all of the aforementioned is readily available now which makes it a little difficult to avoid it completely. But the habit of consumption is not new. And there is an advantage if we just get a little more aware of our consumption. Moving from an automatic mode to a discretionary mode. Choose. I use this word a lot, I do not know how much I am able to use it properly, but I am trying. Life is made of choices and butterfly effect or not, but it goes a long way when we make small changes – ripple effect.
So if you question, what can I possibly do to change anything in the world? Let’s just remember that individuals make up he world and if you can not do anything overt or big then just take a small step and decrease some sort of consumption. It would do wonders for you and definitely for the planet.
Proper food intake; good health. Less drinks, substances, drugs, need I explain? Less technology? Yes, use it and do not let it take over (AI takeover :p ). Less information; yes please, or consume and process it well. Balanced thoughts, emotions, feelings – let them consume you but choose until when. None of it is to be avoided because consumption is natural, but it needs more of our attention. Let’s be conscious of it.