"What do you do with the Mad that you feel?"
The title of this post is the first lyric in a song written by Mr. Rogers, beloved childhood TV host. I just got done watching a powerful video in which Mr. Rogers directly addresses Senator John Pastore at the Capitol. This was at a time when President Nixon was pushing for budget cuts for public TV. He starts off by giving a background on who he is, what he does and why he does it. His rhetoric itself was powerful enough to get the Senator to admit that he was getting goosebumps, at which point Mr. Rogers goes on to recite lyrics to his song, which addresses good feelings of CONTROL.
This video struck me in a very personal way, not just because it relates to the current events that have our nation in a state of emotional turmoil, but because I recently had a poignant conversation with a friend at work about regaining personal control. I expressed to him that I was beginning to feel the need to distance myself from certain patterns of behavior because I was having a hard time thinking and acting independently and rationally.
One of the main patterns I've noticed in my life is I've been become increasingly reliant on the affirmation and validation that social media was actively constructed to make me addicted to. We as humans NEED the feelings of connection and intimacy with others - to feel like we belong - which social media companies have capitalized upon to epic proportions. So I asked myself:
How often do I need to be prodded by some vibrating frequency for that hit of serotonin to help me feel "normal?"
The ironic part about all of this is that I found this inspirational video by browsing my Facebook feed. I guess my view on social media is it isn't bad in itself, if I have the choice to use it or not. Mr. Rogers was trying to impart to young children that they have a choice with how they react to feelings of anger, frustration, or any other emotion that they will inevitably experience. I too have this ability - I've just decided to dig deeper and figure out ways to make it even easier to react in a righteous way when shit hits the fan. Giving into meaningless distractions and neglecting the things that are paramount to my emotional stability is a very powerful root cause of why I sometimes act in ways that I shouldn't.
Life is about balance. You only have 24 hours every day - you can never get more. This means that in order to achieve balance, you must limit one thing if you wish to add to another. My goal is to limit my time spent mindlessly scrolling my phone screen, and instead putting that time towards learning, growing my art, tending my relationships, and everything else that I sometimes feel I'm neglecting.
Is there something you've been neglecting lately that you could be putting more time towards by reducing time spent elsewhere? Post your thoughts below and please share if you enjoyed reading!
Thank you,
Joey
RIVIR
"Know that there's something deep inside
That helps us become what we can.
For a girl can be someday a woman
And a boy can be someday a man."
- Mr. Rogers
This video struck me in a very personal way, not just because it relates to the current events that have our nation in a state of emotional turmoil, but because I recently had a poignant conversation with a friend at work about regaining personal control. I expressed to him that I was beginning to feel the need to distance myself from certain patterns of behavior because I was having a hard time thinking and acting independently and rationally.
One of the main patterns I've noticed in my life is I've been become increasingly reliant on the affirmation and validation that social media was actively constructed to make me addicted to. We as humans NEED the feelings of connection and intimacy with others - to feel like we belong - which social media companies have capitalized upon to epic proportions. So I asked myself:
How often do I need to be prodded by some vibrating frequency for that hit of serotonin to help me feel "normal?"
The ironic part about all of this is that I found this inspirational video by browsing my Facebook feed. I guess my view on social media is it isn't bad in itself, if I have the choice to use it or not. Mr. Rogers was trying to impart to young children that they have a choice with how they react to feelings of anger, frustration, or any other emotion that they will inevitably experience. I too have this ability - I've just decided to dig deeper and figure out ways to make it even easier to react in a righteous way when shit hits the fan. Giving into meaningless distractions and neglecting the things that are paramount to my emotional stability is a very powerful root cause of why I sometimes act in ways that I shouldn't.
Life is about balance. You only have 24 hours every day - you can never get more. This means that in order to achieve balance, you must limit one thing if you wish to add to another. My goal is to limit my time spent mindlessly scrolling my phone screen, and instead putting that time towards learning, growing my art, tending my relationships, and everything else that I sometimes feel I'm neglecting.
Is there something you've been neglecting lately that you could be putting more time towards by reducing time spent elsewhere? Post your thoughts below and please share if you enjoyed reading!
Thank you,
Joey
RIVIR
"Know that there's something deep inside
That helps us become what we can.
For a girl can be someday a woman
And a boy can be someday a man."
- Mr. Rogers
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