The Next Chapter in the OMTF Journey
Yesterday, I finished my blog post - er, rant - and got into my car to drive to work. I am currently avoiding all things political or news radio due to the emotions those things raise in me, so I am listening to lots of podcasts in the car lately. I was out of new episodes on one podcast, so I flipped over to one that makes me think a bit more than the comedy ones I prefer for my commute. If you haven't heard Hidden Brain, I highly recommend it for pieces that make you think about human behavior and development. Shankar Vedantam (I love the musicality contained in his name) is very good at taking complex neurological and social constructs and explaining them in ways that make total sense to me.
The episode at the top of my podcast list was entitled, "Me, me, me." It was broadcast on July 12, 2016, and it just made the rest of my journey into Old Music Therapy Fogey (OMTF) complete. The premise of the broadcast was that our society is becoming more and more narcissistic and more focused on "me" rather than on "you" or on "we/us." We like instant gratification. We want to know answers immediately. We want everyone to know what we are doing because "of course everyone would be fascinated by the fact that I am going to have a breakfast sandwich" this morning. (I think I'm gonna, by the way, but I will refrain from posting about it!)
I am only about halfway through the broadcast, but I am looking forward to finishing it.
I totally agree that our society is becoming more narcissistic. Sometimes that is not a bad thing. Other times, that is a really bad thing. When we are all out for ourselves, we don't have easy answers to the types of questions we are having to ask ourselves these days.
There seems to be a lack of understanding the "other side" when involved in situations. I recently watched a "how to survive being pulled over by the police" video which did an excellent job of explaining what to do in a situation to help defuse the recent responses that we are seeing more and more lately. The person hosting the video did a wonderful job of explaining why you should put and keep your hands on the dashboard as a police officer approaches. The perspective of what is happening and what is being perceived from the other side is important to consider in any type of situation, but definitely is something to consider when the emotional brain takes over the rational brain. We seem to be losing that skill.
Now, I am just as guilty as anyone else of posting things about me, me, me, but I do strive to understand the point of view of other people when involved in different situations. Sometimes it is easy to understand how someone else is feeling based on their reactions. Sometimes it is not, but I continue to strive.
It is time to go back out into the world to attempt to understand and to be "other-focused." I am going to listen to the rest of the podcast and try to stuff the OMTF persona back into the corner of my brain where it can shriek in frustration but not break out!!
The episode at the top of my podcast list was entitled, "Me, me, me." It was broadcast on July 12, 2016, and it just made the rest of my journey into Old Music Therapy Fogey (OMTF) complete. The premise of the broadcast was that our society is becoming more and more narcissistic and more focused on "me" rather than on "you" or on "we/us." We like instant gratification. We want to know answers immediately. We want everyone to know what we are doing because "of course everyone would be fascinated by the fact that I am going to have a breakfast sandwich" this morning. (I think I'm gonna, by the way, but I will refrain from posting about it!)
I am only about halfway through the broadcast, but I am looking forward to finishing it.
I totally agree that our society is becoming more narcissistic. Sometimes that is not a bad thing. Other times, that is a really bad thing. When we are all out for ourselves, we don't have easy answers to the types of questions we are having to ask ourselves these days.
There seems to be a lack of understanding the "other side" when involved in situations. I recently watched a "how to survive being pulled over by the police" video which did an excellent job of explaining what to do in a situation to help defuse the recent responses that we are seeing more and more lately. The person hosting the video did a wonderful job of explaining why you should put and keep your hands on the dashboard as a police officer approaches. The perspective of what is happening and what is being perceived from the other side is important to consider in any type of situation, but definitely is something to consider when the emotional brain takes over the rational brain. We seem to be losing that skill.
Now, I am just as guilty as anyone else of posting things about me, me, me, but I do strive to understand the point of view of other people when involved in different situations. Sometimes it is easy to understand how someone else is feeling based on their reactions. Sometimes it is not, but I continue to strive.
It is time to go back out into the world to attempt to understand and to be "other-focused." I am going to listen to the rest of the podcast and try to stuff the OMTF persona back into the corner of my brain where it can shriek in frustration but not break out!!
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