Netflix Bingeing, Rest, & the Journey...

Restoratative?
I admit that I may have a problem...I love my life and what I do but... sometimes my need for distraction gets a little alarming. Police procedurals work well. I like the ones, which are not too bloody, and generally where they get the bad guy (or girl) within the 45 minute format. I am not above "Cozy Mysteries" in the English genre traditions, too. Science fiction is also a good fit for me as I like science and new, interesting ways of thinking about humanity and our collective learning edges.  All these shows reinforce my idea of a hopeful but, indeed, changing world; they also relax my mind, a bit, and take me out of other people's stories, of which I hear quite a lot. 

They are also a form of rest. Restorative activities, ones that we can take in, are very important to find and employ.  Right? Maybe digital detox can work in reverse. It eases the stories out of our heads and programs us with new stories...this can be good, as long as we are discerning in our choices, right?

But what is too much? Two shows? Four shows? Six in a row?
Let's set aside the addictive way each new show on Netflix (and other streaming services) rarely end on a satisfying note. They create a skillful climactic up tick that hooks and funnels you into the next episode (STARTING IN 3 SECONDS...).  HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?

More Qualitative than Quantitative: meditation as discernment
The real question that is up for me is: What is underneath my need for distraction? The answer could be very different on different bingeing...days. Maybe it is boredom?  Or fatigue? My own lack of imagination? Maybe it is fear?

This is why I must meditate each day....to be awake to what I am doing and how I am using my time...because none of us have all the time in the world. 

Here is another question that came to me from my spiritual director because she knows my need to strive.  (I can't help it; efforting is part of my inbred prairie constitution.) Here it is.  See if it changes your life, like it is changing mine.

                 What is the highest return on my soul's mission... &               
                  (wait for it...) EASIEST for me to do? - Rev. Dr. Megan Wagner

Maybe the distraction is generative? Or perhaps, it is bridging me to some insight.

Maybe it is play.
Play Daily is a rule of mine. Play is part of the journey...actually maybe it IS the journey. What if, (and this is another question from that same wise woman...) it was of the UPMOST importance to the Universe, (to the Holy, to the Almighty, to the Holy One of Many Names,) that we are in play and joy? 

What if that was the ultimate use?  It is an important question, right up there with how much MORE can I do? More. More. More, which leads to the idea that we don't have enough ...or are not enough just as we are.

It is good marketing, of course, for product sales but not fodder for the good life. Gratitude is fodder for a good life. It is a superpower.

My Playtime: Did I mention that I am recording an audible book?
(I am also binge watching a Canadian Sci Fi series called The Travelers, which is a kinder and gentler bodysnatchers who are trying to save the world in 3 seasons. It is thoughtful...and a lot of fun.)

Have fun today... that is our job, too.

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