Consumption vs Construction and the Bridges Between
Earlier today, I read a quote in a book I just finished titled "The School of Greatness" by Lewis Howes that struck something in me.
"The easiest way to live a short unimportant life is to consume the world around you rather than contribute to it." ~ James Clear, Entrepreneur & Travel Photographer
It made me reflect on who I am, what I do and where I am headed in life. Am I only consuming the world around me? Or am I building for myself and everyone I am involved with either directly or indirectly? I consume music, videos, data, but what do I do with all of it? I know...
NOTHING
I take a lot for granted and lately the way things have been going, I've given more energy to the things I can't control than the things and the people right in front me. I've constructed a barricade based on consumption though my intention is to create.
Anything that I can be proud of.
Having two kids, a wife and a business, my time is spread thin and sometimes feels like I get no time to myself. No escape. No break. Nothing to reset my mind between the previous day and the next. It feels as if I'm playing a game without knowing the rules or taking a test without any references - "winging it" if I may. It feels as if I'm trying to fill 5 glasses of water, but not enough water to go around.
And then I read that quote.
"The easiest way to live a short unimportant life is to consume the world around you rather than contribute to it."
That's not me. That's not who I am or who I want to be. I look at my wife and kids and burn their image into my mind, creating memories that can't be taken away; memories that will continue on with me after I leave this earth, building a life-long movie that only I will ever see.
Consumption happens in many ways though. We consume social media. We consume food for survival or enjoyment. We, as humans, consume ourselves like a super massive black hole inhaling everything around us and leaving destruction behind us. But, what if we could change that? What would it take to reverse it and create an everlasting world, free from the touch of loss? How do we make that happen?
We forge it.
Our lives are recycled. The circle of life if you will. There's a certain balance to this world that tips and sways between positive and negative and it happens all around us at every second of the day. We directly control the world around us when we choose to share our knowledge, our experiences, our memories and connect with others. We build bridges to one another that can help people cross trials they never thought they'd face. We can build each other up or we can tear each other down. The simplicity may go over the heads of some, but it's something that hit me like a bag of bricks after reading that quote.
With everything that I've consumed, I must construct pathways for people to follow. While we will never have all of the answers, when we share ourselves with others, we share pieces of the puzzle that make us...humans. Every imperfection. Every advantage and disadvantage. It's our job to build together.
End thought.