Monday, June 13, 2016

Beware What You Consume. Lest You Be Consumed

We've always heard the adage "You are what you eat", and these days everybody and his cousin is worried about what food he eats. Food diets abound. But - how often do we watch what we consume?

I mean, overall? We consume soooo much these days, and, sadly, we consume so much garbage. From fear-inducing news broadcasts that make us fear our neighbors, to violent TV shows about serial killers, where everyone is out to get you.  We read (often) poorly-written newspapers that spout more fear-mongering stories, or else create the illusion that we have a lack that needs to be filled (such as adertisements for a newer, better car, for example).

Do you think that watching, listening to, reading these things, or participating in water-fountain gossip, is harmless? Or has no real effect on you ? Keep a journal. Make notes of what you've been consuming, and note your thoughts. Almost certainly, you will see manifestations of your 'diet'.

I'm not immune, and this is why I know what we consume truly matters. When I watch too much of the news - especially events that are happening far away from me and upon which I can have little impact - I start to feel angry, hopeless. No, I didn't automatically connect it to my consumption, but repeatedly it would happen and so I noticed the pattern.

It happens in smaller ways, too. One of my new favourite podcasts is My Favorite Murder, which is two women who each talk about one of their favourite murders in history. Yeah, ok, I know - the content alone is toxic (but, oh so fun!), but these chicks swear like crazy. The F word is dropped umpteen times alone. And, sure enough, I noticed myself start swearing far more than usual. I mean, I'm a high school teacher! I can't be someone who swears!

Anyway, that is a minor and harmless example, but the truth is, what you consume pervades your body, mind and soul. If you read crap, you will feel like crap and you will act like crap.


We watch our food intake like crazy, but yet, how often do we stop to assess our consumption? How often do we note what it's doing to our selves?

Take the challenge. Remove toxic input for one week. Toxic can be whatever you define it as.  Maybe it's the news, or maybe violent fiction, or maybe nasty talk radio shows that make you mad at the world. Eliminate one or two things, and replace it with happy things (jigsaw puzzles with dogs on them, fluffy cozy mystery novels....).

See if you feel better in a day or two!

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