By Beholding, We Become…

Tuesday night, I did something I normally don’t like to do… I turned on the television to have company while eating – a habit I got while living in the U.S.

My world these day usually consists of working on the computer (see the link above titled, “Internet Presence“), talking on the computer (Skype), get my news on the computer, and of course, facebook.  Add a few other places I frequent, including downloadable movies and series; so what do I need a television for?  I guess it’s just that it’s in another room and that room also has a sofa, which is much more comfortable than the chair I spend my day working in.

Over the past several years I’ve found that my tolerance level for violence and what I’ll term as foolishness, is getting lower and lower.  When I turned on the television yesterday, what I saw was some American series (I live in Mexico) that I’ve never seen before.  The plot of the story was built around the FBI and something to do with a scientist working out of Harvard University and his project was something of the extraordinary.  What actually sickened me was all the violence in the series.

You may be saying to yourself right about now, “Hey!  You’re just too sensitive…”  or any number of variables that may compliment that statement, but consider some of the things I learned as a late teenager:

Starting from… heck, I don’t know… it’s been always – I’ve loved watching people and seeing how people react in different situations, in different conditions… I even studied myself in the same manner.  Later in life – college life, one of my majors was psychology.  In my late teens, I learned how different types of music influenced different emotions and feelings, which in turn also affected how I functioned in public.  Watching others, well, of course, others reacted the same.

At this time in our lives when there is so much unrest – on a personal level, on society, in beliefs and the loss of so many long-held beliefs; of our faith in our governments and so much more, what we watch, listen, read and talk about is definitely affecting our present and future.  By giving our attention to  anything that provides an excessive amount of violence, whether in the form of straight violence, horror movies or even comedies, you’re making your mind accustomed to violence.  Think about it:  when you, or if you’re in a crowed area and some violence breaks out, what do you or others do?  Take out your cell phone and take videos?  pictures? stand around and wait to see who wins?  see how well they fight?  what kind of gun do they have?  We’ve become accustomed to violence and the silence that comes with it.

As civil unrest continues to rise all around the world… as more and more people are participating in violence everywhere, whether influenced by governments or civil uprisings, people will join in because they want in on the action… they want the adrenaline boost from the violence… and many other reasons.

I’m only using violence as an example, but there are many things that influence us on a daily basis.  My cautionary words of advise are:  think about your goals in life and travel the path that gets you there without destructive diversions.  Each diversion takes time and removes your focus from your goal(s).  If you’re one that likes to help others, just remember that your actions speak louder than your voice can ever do… but more on that tomorrow.

Have a wonderful day!

Related articles

• Can the admiration of violence breed more violence? (beinghuman.blogs.fi)
• Sinking into sea of violence (ekathimerini.com)
• Youth Violence (socyberty.com)
• Far Cry 3: “Ignoring motivation for violence is a mistake” – Ubisoft talks maturity (vg247.com)