Tolerating Bullshit
The article “Open-Minded Man Grimly Realizes How Much Life He’s Wasted Listening To Bullshit” on the parody news site, TheOnion.com, begins:
“CLEVELAND—During an unexpected moment of clarity Tuesday, open-minded man Blake Richman was suddenly struck by the grim realization that he’s squandered a significant portion of his life listening to everyone’s bullshit, the 38-year-old told reporters.
A visibly stunned and solemn Richman, who until this point regarded his willingness to hear out the opinions of others as a worthwhile quality, estimated that he’s wasted nearly three and a half years of his existence being open to people’s half-formed thoughts, asinine suggestions, and pointless, dumbfuck stories.”
It’s funny, but it also rings true. How much of our lives do we spend letting pointless, stupid, and just plain wrong junk influence our thoughts, moods, and activities? News, ranting talk show hosts, ads for things we don’t need, bogus heart-wrenching sob stories that get passed around the internet, as if our pity, tears, or righteous indignation make any bit of difference.
Practicing Aikido, and meditating, have helped me to see where I stand, what’s important, and where I want to place my focus.
Time is all we have. We should spend it wisely, on people and work and activities we love. Don’t waste a moment on things that don’t matter. Get up and walk away, delete it, turn it off, refuse to feed it with your energy. Let the bullshit fall to the ground unnoticed, to decay its own good time.
