Someone Else's Life

I just got back from Fall Break, one of the most wonderful times of the year.  I just had a four day weekend and I'm now coming back to classes halfway through the week.  I'm halfway done, and I haven't even started!

I spent this joyous four day weekend doing what so many of us do best:  NOTHING!  I spent the last two days reading and watching movies and TV.  What I find particularly interesting about the last couple of days is that I cannot, by any means of guilt I have thus far attempted, convince myself that it was a waste of time!  I spent my entire weekend sitting around without really DOING anything, and I can't help but consider it time well spent.  So, being my usual overthoughtful self, I must ask myself, why?

What is it about watching movies and reading books that allows me to consider it a positive use of my life?  I spent my car ride back tonight pondering this.

The best answer I've come up with is that I feel like I've accomplished something.  At the end of a movie or a book, I feel like I have done something worthy of my time.  What exactly did I do?  I sat on a couch and observed.  I know many people who would consider this a waste of time.  I also know these same people would cheerfully give up an entire day or two to watch a sporting event.  What exactly do you do their?  You stay in the stands and observe.

So what is it about observing these kind of things that makes us feel like we're doing something productive?  Why do people get excited when their football team scores?  Why do people get depressed when their baseball team is on a losing streak?  Why do people cry in movies or while reading books?  Think about it.  You aren't really a part of the football or baseball or basketball or cricket or rugby or curling team.  With the exception of gambling, their win or loss really doesn't affect your life.  You aren't really a part of the movie or a character in the book.  Whether or not the bad guy is killed or the guy ends up with the right girl will not change a thing about the way you go about your business the next day.  So why does it matter?

I finally came to what I call a conclusion for lack of a better word.  I was talking to my brother at a football game a couple of weeks ago about this very thing.  We were talking about why sports are such a successful and integral part of our lives.  What we ultimately said was that we need sports.  I would extend the same thing to movies and books.  We need them.  Why?  Because our lives are incredibly boring!

Most people spend their life going through the same routine every morning.  The go to work or school.  They see the same people, eat many of the same things, and generally do the same exact thing every day of their life.  Sports and movies allow us to get out some of our frustration with our lives.  We allow ourselves to live vicariously through these people on the field, court, screen, or page.  By observing their life, we put ourselves in their much more interesting shoes for long enough to maintain our sanity.  TV, movies, books, sports, and even celebrity gossip are so important to us because they let us live someone else's life which then makes our life seem that much more interesting.

Is this a bad thing?  Is it bad that so many people are focused on living through someone else?  Is it bad that most people spend a large chunk of their time trying to live in someone else's life?  You spend your time watching other people's lives on TV, reading other people's lives on Facebook, and even listening to and reading other people's thoughts on the news or on people's blogs.  Are you right now by reading this living your life or mine?  If you're living my life, is that a bad thing?

This is the point where I'm going to stop your leisurely stroll through my mind and force you back into your own.  Do you think living vicariously through someone else is a bad thing that should be changed, a good thing that should be left alone, or a necessary evil?  I'm not going to give you an answer.

Get out of my head and answer for yourself.