Peak Us

We live in a world now where there are countless opportunities and experiences to be had.  Though sometimes, our physicality limits our ability to savour everything. With only one neck, we are limited to wearing one tie / cravat / scarf at a time. Our digestive system puts constraints on the number of meals we can consume per day, regardless of whether we are poor or a billionaire. However, having multiple careers in parallel is becoming increasingly common, as is simultaneously consuming via multiple devices.

We might well be approaching ‘peak us’. This is characterised by the fact that we are ‘always on’, always experiencing / consuming. Imagine a world where the people / patients are constantly attached to dopamine and serotonin drips. Any attempt to disconnect them is greeted by a snarl, or worse.

In many respects this sounds ideal, until you realise that you are no longer in control of your day to day life, but merely being propelled forward like a frictionless magnetically levitated train, where the path taken is determined by those that control the magnets.

Looking at it from a slightly different angle. Our bodies follow our minds. Our mind either follows what stimulates / attracts us, or directs us to where we direct our attention.  If we are not careful, we will lose the ability to direct, ie. to pay attention.

At such a point, we will cease to be us, taking on the characteristics of a well-trained circus animal. Of course there are certain activities that we are obliged to perform. But it might be worth reflecting on what fraction of your day was spent in, or in pursuit of, a neurotransmitter trance. And to what extent you, in some way, paid an organisation for the experience.

Keep in mind that being zoned-out is not the same as being in the zone. Of course, there is no harm in (occasionally) being a consumer. But the money, smart or otherwise, is gravitating towards the producers.