With a few more days of this experiment under my belt, my most poignant realization is that lately, I am living pretty much in a daze. This is quite ironic; instead of getting me to learn to "live deliberately," this is experiment is causing me to discover that I "live unconsciously." But I guess that could be the whole hidden point.
It's startling to realize that you are living unconsciously. It means that you've gotten caught up in a monotonous routine and have lost a part of your inquisitive and inquiring cognizance as a human being. My daily activities and my mental processes have recently all been revolving around getting through each school day until I get to the great big relief that a weekend is, only to restart the whole process over again. My prospects for the future revolve on finishing projects, preparing for finals, planning my fall semester, and so on. My reflections on my actions all center on how I performed on an exam, how well my meeting went with a professor, how I can improve, etc. It's not that we shouldn't devote part of our brains to our studies; as students, I understand that our studies are like our job and are key to our futures. However, I feel like I have reached a point where I am completely ignorant of all other aspects of life right now, to the point where I can't even focus on this living experiment!
In my last post, I had indignantly stated how I would not allow myself to follow the experiment so loosely any longer. Well, I've followed my guidelines about just as loosely, perfectly exemplifying my inability to focus on anything but academics. (And yes, I can see how it can be argued that technically, this experiment is academic. However, since it requires me to do unorthodox academic activities, my brain doesn't see it in quite the same light). Honestly, I barely remember my experiment goals for a majority of the day. Anyways, here's a categorical look at my progress (or stagnancy):
Food.
-I had been doing pretty well in this arena. But here was my Saturday night: we went to see the fireworks at the cherry blossom festival. We wanted food from the famous food truck rally. We waited in line for an hour. They ran out of food. The fireworks started. The fireworks ended. It was almost ten o'clock by now, and we hadn't eaten since two. The only restaurant for miles was Z-Burger. It didn't end well.
Consumerism.
-Luckily, I've been able to eat all my meals with reusable utensils. The only exception was the emergency trip to Z-Burger's, where they use an insane amount of paper packaging.
Technology.
-My Facebook addiction still gets the best of me, but at least now I am very aware and actually quite disgusted by how much time I waste online.
Political Action.
-I read the news on my newspaper app on my I-Phone a couple of times when I was bored waiting for the metro or a meeting. I'll keep this as my "waiting room" activity from now on.
Transportation.
-One of my friends actually helped me out here a couple of times. As she and my other friends routinely got on the elevator, she'd yell "Hey! Living experiment!" to me. This is mostly out of humor, but it's effective! Thanks, buddy.
Happiness.
-I haven't been able to do pleasure reading out in the sun yet, but I have at least been able to sit outside and do required readings. It's still nice (and an effective way to get some summer glow).
I really like how you describe the monotonous routine of the week (which I can totally relate to) as "living unconsciously". Sometimes I find myself just wishing for the weekend when in reality, I feel like I should be enjoying every day. We only live once right? Your blog is really honest and fun to read! I am equally struggling with my own experiment so it was refreshing to read someone else document their difficulties. Great job :)
ReplyDeleteMaggie,
ReplyDeleteAs Meg stated above, it's refreshing to hear some honesty! I can empathize with getting wrapped in the tasks at hand and placing our happiness on the back-burner. All too often, I believe, we sacrifice our appreciation of the day and in order to get things done. I think a lot of this has to do with it becoming more and more the "American way," which is very alarming. However, despite some setbacks in your experiment this isn't a total loss as you stated. If nothing else is gained from this experiment, it certainly highlights the fact that we too frequently "live unconsciously" (I'm a big fan of that term).
As I commented on your first post, I'm curious about your thoughts on the Dalai Lama readings. He states, "Modern industrial society often strikes me as being like a huge self-propelled machine. Instead of human beings being in charge, each individual is a tiny, insignificant component with no choice but to move when the machine moves." (10) I believe he is spot on in this point. The key is, as this experiment brings this notion to light, finding a way to merge our happiness with the advances of modern societies. For me, this is first done by breaking our reliance on the "machine" and placing greater emphasis on our rational quest for "inner" happiness. Ironically, with all of our advances in science and technology, this becomes harder and harder to do--as we're all discovering. Keep that head up though, haha.
Maggie-
ReplyDeleteThe way that you've formatted your goals is really impressive and innovative. I think that it's really cool that you went nearly a week using reusable utensils. I have a bunch of reusables in my room and I just let them sit there. I tried to be eco-friendly earlier this year and it didn't go well...it was just too hard! I'm glad to see that it went well for your experiment! I couldn't agree more with your assessment of Facebook. I have no idea how much time I spend on it. The only thing I know is that I spend too much time on it and it's really sick. I guess it's good that we're aware of our addictions. Overall I'm really impressed with your honesty! Great work!