Other People's Lives

I love my gossip blogs. I check them religiously throughout the day. Sometimes I check them every few minutes. I realize this is not healthy behavior. I used to be addicted to all the celebrity magazines. Whenever people made fun of me, I would tell them that some people spend their money on beer or cigarettes, and I spend mine on magazines. So what is the difference? Addiction is addiction. I'm over those magazines now, but I've replaced them with the Internet. So I may have saved some money, but I still waste time on these things. I realize it's out of boredom. And curiosity. But mainly boredom. Am I really being mindful by reading the alleged details of somebody else's sex life? Does it really impact my life one way or the other?

I have to step back sometimes and remind myself that these images on my screen are just people. They do all the things that human beings do. They may have more money and more visibility, but it doesn't mean they are any happier. I would even venture to say they are more unhappy than the "average" person.

There was an editorial in this Sunday's New York Times about the genocide in Darfur. I knew about this tangentially, but I didn't really KNOW about it until I read this editorial. Heartbreaking and horrible.