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Making and Consuming
Mar. 27th, 2012 09:21 amAbout a month ago, a good friend of mine wrote a blog post about producing versus consuming, inspired by a conversation he'd had with another friend of his. This idea has stuck with me, and I've been mulling it over ever since reading it.
Sometimes it can take me a while to think through and pinpoint the underlying causes of different emotions I'm experiencing. To explain this to other people, I generally say, "I'm a slow emotional processor." This idea of consumption versus production is tied to many aspects of my life, just as it is in J's life, including my emotional state.
In mulling things over, I suspect that a big part of the feelings of resentment I've experienced and that I blogged about not too long ago is tied to this same problem. In particular, I keep hearing about upcoming plans that I cannot participate in, because I no longer live in Arizona. And you know what, I have to turn off the sources of that information - which are largely through the book of the Face. Knowing about those plans feels vaguely stalker-esque because I am not there, and it doesn't do anything for my everyday life except make me aware of things I don't need to know about. I do not make those plans and I do not participate in their realization. I'm consuming, but there's no way for me to contribute back, so I have a lot of extra energy that isn't going anywhere.
So I'm not dropping out of Facebook, just downsizing considerably, and trying to adjust my focus towards things that enrich my day-to-day life.
But to return back to these interwoven ideas about production and consumption - I think it tends to be most rewarding when the two processes are directly and intimately tied to each other. That's why so many people have turned back to handmade goods, and it may also explain why conversations are enriching in ways that extended monologues are not (the push-pull of speaking and listening). In a lot of ways, the work of writing a manuscript or book is an extension of this process; one must do a lot of consumption (whether through personal experiences or reading other works) in the process of production.
Anyway. I risk too much rambling on the subject, but I am curious to know if you've given this much thought, and if so, what ideas or conclusions you've reached.
Sometimes it can take me a while to think through and pinpoint the underlying causes of different emotions I'm experiencing. To explain this to other people, I generally say, "I'm a slow emotional processor." This idea of consumption versus production is tied to many aspects of my life, just as it is in J's life, including my emotional state.
In mulling things over, I suspect that a big part of the feelings of resentment I've experienced and that I blogged about not too long ago is tied to this same problem. In particular, I keep hearing about upcoming plans that I cannot participate in, because I no longer live in Arizona. And you know what, I have to turn off the sources of that information - which are largely through the book of the Face. Knowing about those plans feels vaguely stalker-esque because I am not there, and it doesn't do anything for my everyday life except make me aware of things I don't need to know about. I do not make those plans and I do not participate in their realization. I'm consuming, but there's no way for me to contribute back, so I have a lot of extra energy that isn't going anywhere.
So I'm not dropping out of Facebook, just downsizing considerably, and trying to adjust my focus towards things that enrich my day-to-day life.
But to return back to these interwoven ideas about production and consumption - I think it tends to be most rewarding when the two processes are directly and intimately tied to each other. That's why so many people have turned back to handmade goods, and it may also explain why conversations are enriching in ways that extended monologues are not (the push-pull of speaking and listening). In a lot of ways, the work of writing a manuscript or book is an extension of this process; one must do a lot of consumption (whether through personal experiences or reading other works) in the process of production.
Anyway. I risk too much rambling on the subject, but I am curious to know if you've given this much thought, and if so, what ideas or conclusions you've reached.
