Brain Candy

It’s not always easy to know what is good for a person.  I’m not talking about food or drink but rather about what a person does with their time.  A person can become addicted to the most unlikely of things such as books, television shows, games, card making and other amusements.  The question is whether these amusements are good for a person even when done in what might be considered excess. 

Elementary you think?  We are talking about “harmless” pastimes after all so is there too much of a good thing?  Counselors will tell you “all things in moderation” and other kindly worded things to make you stop what you are doing if it interferes with the rest of your life and upsets family members.

Okay, where am I going with this exactly?  Recently I have found myself playing solitaire on the computer.  Believe it or not despite owning this computer for 7 years I have never played an sort of a game on it before now and I am afraid that I have become slightly addicted to it.  I discovered it about a week ago and I have wasted hours on it.  Granted, I have been ill and unable to concentrate due to pain or at least that is the excuse I am giving myself and my mother.  But I am actually quite disturbed by the amount of time that has been sucked away from me by a silly game.  So where I am going with this is that I suddenly realize the fascination of the more complex games that people are actually playing. 

The difference, I hope, is that I recognized in a short period of time that I was wasting my time and becoming addicted to something extremely mind numbing.  I sincerely hope that I will be able to stop myself.  Yes, cold turkey.

Addiction is a frightful thing even when it is “harmless”.  Does this seem simple and obvious?  Perhaps, but I hope it also shocks you a little bit into looking at what you may be doing that is not all that good for you.  Maybe it’s just me, but spending several hours per day on a game is not exactly adult, productive or meaningful.

Or am I missing something more?