We should all do a bit more thinking, I think. See? I just did something there.
So much of life is nearly autonomous. Many students could probably shower, dress themselves and microwave a breakfast burrito without even opening their eyes in the morning.
A huge percentage of that process is just our bodies running through the motions while our brain occupies itself with whatever annoying song is stuck in our heads.
With deadlines, due dates and expectations we’re all desperately trying to meet constantly filling our heads, there’s little time to just sit back and think.
Much of the downtime that we do find is spent in front of the television or browsing social media.
Oftentimes I’ll spend an hour or so surfing the internet and once I’ve finished, I’ll feel as if I’ve absorbed almost none of what I watched or read.
Why do I do it? Why waste that precious hour that could be applied to creating something, learning something or at least living consciously?
We use electronics as distractions from reality. We use drugs or alcohol as temporary escapes from reality. Why are we all just running away from real life?
It’s because it’s easier. It’s so much easier to forget about real life for a while and just shift to autopilot. We’re turning our brain off to give it some time to recover from class, work or whatever else demanded some of your attention that day.
We can all benefit from more deep thought. Not about homework or how to gain more Twitter followers, but just about life and you’re role in it.
So just breathe, unplug and think every now and then.