idle minds

it's interesting how sometimes it is easier to be happy when you are busy than when you have nothing to do. most people who work a lot might think that's ridiculous, since the goal in the average person's life is usually to find the most stimulating use of their coveted free time. but there is something to be said for having tasks and responsibilities. people define themselves through action and purpose, and with nothing to do, it's easy to get lost and stagnate. maybe it's a little relic of the common instinct that most life has on one level or another, the drive to keep moving and doing. it's that impulse that keeps animals searching out food and all the other ultimately necessary activities without which life wouldn't be possible. acting and involving oneself in the world is living, and instills a feeling of satisfaction, even if subconciously. there is a purpose.

it seems to me as though the world, especially the parts of which are the most "progressive," is being slowly chipped away at by epidemic depression and other mental and spiritual diseases. i believe that the source of this problem, which will in all probability only increase with time, is that there is not enough to do. of course there are plenty of diversions and endless forms of entertainment available to us, and in many ways there is more to do than there ever has been. but most of this is distraction from actual involvement. almost no one kills their own food or builds anything of their own, such as the things they own or the house they live in. they work, but as jobs become more specialized, the function they fill in society and in their own lives becomes more obscure, and the feeling of purpose is lost. so new toys are designed to keep people happy and some more people are put to work thinking of new ways to sell them. consumerism is an industry in itself now, because the world has never needed to keep more people happy at the same time. hunting has been replaced by shopping. most people have lost their stomach for it, but the killing still has to be done, so it's best done behind their backs for their own good, while they spend money trying to make themselves happy.

and if that doesn't make any sense, then one of us doesn't know what i'm talking about.