Read on Twitter
When we do the same things over and over again, we’re practicing; even if we don't treat it as such. You're making it ‘easier’ for your brain to activate those parts of its weird fuckin leccy mush. Checking Twitter every morning is a great way to practice getting outraged.
Like I know a few boomers who get angry at fuckin everything, and I think a bunch of it (aside from their obvious bigotry) comes from years of reading the paper of a morning, being told about all the bad stuff these bad people are doing, practicing anger and blame every day.
It's like, whether we like it or not, whether we're conscious about it or not, our routine is a form of practice. So, are we accidentally getting super good at being sad and angry before we even scran our Cheerios? Probs.
It's not as simple as this; but basically by being Extremely Online In The End Times, it's so easy to come across news that angers us. Every time that happens, we strengthen the pathways that lead to outrage, to anger. The stronger they are, the faster they can ‘switch on’.
If we're constantly in and out of states of outrage, we get very good at it, and our brain finds it a cool, efficient reaction (spoiler: it's not). My question isn't ‘why don't we stop practicing outrage?’ (it's important), but more ‘what can we do to balance this?’
How can we practice compassion with a similarly, instantly-accessible bottomless pit of content? How can we make sure that we’re as good at laughter? At uplifting ourselves and others? At loving and caring and expressing our positive emotions?
We can't exist perpetually trapped in a few, negative states; but it's important as humans to feel anger, to be able to express outrage, especially towards the oppressive, capitalist systems of today. But we need balance, to be proficient across the spectrum of human emotion.
Anyway this isn't about a ‘tech detox’ or bullshit minimalism self-help. It's about understanding that any of our habits or routines can lead us to favour reactions at an almost neurological level. Next time you fall into a rote habit, try and think ‘what am I practicing here?’
