If I had a time machine and could send just one message to my past self, it would be, “Remove the distractions.”
I hope you never have the horrible realization of how many days, weeks, months, or (heaven forbid) years summed up and listed on a STEAM gaming account. I probably don’t have as many hours in the grand scheme of things, but I don’t particularly enjoy being reminded that I’ve played over five hundred hours of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (let alone the total of hours of video games played). As much as I love a good video game, it’s come to my attention how much of a distraction they are. Them, as well as social media, algorithms, and any attention-draining campaign. All of those hours sitting in front of a screen… Think of how many books that could have been read or written!
I’m at the tail-end of my youth, and it’s eerie to think of having fewer tomorrows than yesterdays (unless life grants me the blessing or curse of living beyond seventy-five—a bessing if my health is good, a curse if I’m on life support with piles of pills, tanks, and tubes). As such, it forces one to choose distractions wisely, and to wisely choose how long to be distracted.
Life is too short to be distracted most of time time, and so all different parts of me (the procrastinator, the madwoman, the creator, the tortured soul—I jest with this one) convened during this past Ostara—the Spring Equinox. During this celebratory time, we welcome the return of the sun and all of Earth’s revewals and rebirths. I use this time of the year to renew myself—like a New Year Resolution, only bound in realistic goals.
I had a special goal in mind this cycle: to bring back my passion for writing and reading. And, to achieve this, I had to remove distractions… even if some of them were painful to do.
Not all distractions are useless, mind-numbing, brain rotting marathons of media and content consumption. Sometimes, it is simply spending too much time doing other things. For me, as much as I love a good crafting project, this meant knitting fewer sweaters. Sewing fewer shirts. Taking a leave from martial arts. Baking less. And, of course, playing fewer video games. Time is a priceless thing. We cannot get more of it, but we can reorganize it.
When a defining goal overtakes one’s soul, it becomes necessary to sacrifice something else. Three hours of watching a movie could have been three hours of reading. Two hours of baking a cake could have been two hours of hiking for better health. We get to decide what priorities to indulge in (and nothing has to be completely discarded; only reduced or changed).
Galls & Walnuts 