Updated: Sep 15, 2019
A recent question to the currently small audience (1400 people) read as follows: do you have 1-2 television subscriptions, or 3+? It’s probably not shocking to learn 62% of people said they pay for 3 or more monthly subscriptions. We’re a consumer-based society that demands to stay entertained; we have football games on Sundays, Mondays, and Thursdays, more if you count college – we can binge Stranger Things (and a zillion other Netflix shows); we can wait for weekly episodes of our favorite HBO show (The Righteous Gemstones is a personal favorite right now), not to mention the dramatics that is Bachelor In Paradise (I’m still not sure how I feel about John Paul Jones), and then of course, there’s the Hulu original, Handmaid’s Tale, which is some of the best writing and acting you can witness. So, what does this mean? Does fear of not being part of the conversation come into play? I know I only started Game of Thrones because everyone was talking about it, and I couldn’t contribute to the conversation when it would come up… or is it more so to distract us from our every day lives? Or, is it simply because story telling is that important – story telling can provide inspiration, can show us things about ourselves through characters we relate to, can make us laugh and cry and celebrate. Call it a combination of everything, which makes one thing clear – we tend to prioritize television… what is it being put in front of though? Cooking? Are people driving through Chick-Fil-A instead of picking fresh ingredients from their local Farmer’s Market? I mean the sauce is incredible, and those waffle fries are legit, but what I don’t love is feeling shitty afterwards – I’m not one that’s built to be lethargic.
What about doctor or dentist appointments? I’m a little embarrassed to admit this, but before last week, I hadn’t been to see a dentist in years – I just didn’t prioritize a routine teeth cleaning because, well, I didn’t think it was necessary. I’m happy to report I don’t have anything crazy going on in my mouth – just a rowdy wisdom tooth making it’s way through my gums. But still, the amount of health problems that can originate from poor dental health is astronomical.
And how many people are meditating? I don’t even necessarily mean the sit still in a dark room and silently “go in” for thirty minutes… I mean meditation in whatever form best suits the individual – yoga, gratitude talks, affirmations, laying out in the sun. I don’t think there’s a strong case to be made against these practices – I know personally, once I incorporated this into my daily routine, I became happier, less stressed, and more inclined to strive for what I truly want out of life.
I’m sure I could list out ten more things, but I won’t – as this is my first blog post, I don’t want to make it too long. But I’ll leave with this question… pretty soon, Disney will have their own streaming service, as will Apple, and I’m sure more will follow – are you buying those as well? Do you need to see Aniston, Witherspoon, and Carell in their new show? I’m not sure of my answer yet…
Either way, thanks for reading my first entry – you always hear ’embrace the process’ and I totally did. Don’t forget to send in your questions / curiosities! #coffeewithaquestion
