How to separate yourself from the blind, bored and beleaguered masses

Untethered Mind, Friday Short, 3-min read.

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Modern life is not necessarily easier than it was hundreds of years ago.

Most of us have everything we need. Technology has given us a false sense of safety. And beneath the apparent abundance of modernity lies a rotting core.

The trouble comes in the form of a silent antagonist we can’t see or touch.

Thicker blankets are nicer than hard floors, but they weaken us.

Uber Eats brings us processed gunge and packaged salt straight to our door.

Many of us could use a bit more money, but even in this, there is a lack of a need to fight. We have enough to get by, and this softens us.

Our lives are so free of challenge, strife, and sharp edges that we become listless.

Why do anything when we have everything?

We feel bored, and given all the technological trappings around us, do what makes the most sense to us: We seek out new dopamine highs and tingly stimulations.

We escape to that tempting window into the nether world of endless entertainment — our phone.

But the phone hides within it a secret influence that poisons our soul. It seems harmless until we interface with reality and find we’re even more dissatisfied.

The phone has numbed us in a very real way. Dopamine receptors frayed like burned matchsticks.

Somewhat ironically, we are making ourselves even less capable of finding life exciting and interesting.

Hundreds of years ago, we weren’t plagued by these silent energy sinks. We felt a natural yearning to create, and we viewed creative work as an opportunity.

Creativity can be an escape, but today, this source of enjoyment is being replaced.

We see creative outlets more as a burden. We say we want to paint, but when we find a spare moment, we choose instead to succumb to braindead consumption.

Do you see what you’re doing to yourself?

What’s the way out of this quagmire?

Take a breath and relax. It’s not all over.

Just realise where your zest for life is draining.

We can enjoy our technology, but we can’t allow it to get the upper hand.

Be conscious about the power your phone and your devices have over you.

I know the allure is strong. But you’re not like everyone else. They can lose half their lives if they choose.

Instead, you will begin to nurture the habit of creating as your escape. While their eyes gloss over Netflix, you’re deep in flow at the canvas.

Or the woodworking block.

Or the writing table.

Or the drawing board.

When the pull to check your phone appears, take a breath. Look out the window or go for a walk.

This is a practice. It will require small changes and little iterations.

Gradually exchange time spent in consumption with time in reflection, mindful presence, or creative expression.

Your future self will thank you for this.

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