Welcome to the Mind Fuzz newsletter, a recap of three things that are on my mind this week.
1. The Paradox of Ignorance
Do you think ignorance is bliss?
In the words of Zach de la Rocha from Rage Against the Machine, “when ignorance reigns, life is lost.”
But for someone who overthinks and over-analyses way too much, I can’t help but think the opposite may be true.
I was watching The Inbetweeners this week, and I couldn’t help but wonder what life would be like for someone like Neil’s character.
I mean, on the outside, it looks damn good. Ignorant, almost care-free in a way, just living life. Questioning the world and your place in it can be exhausting. But I feel like once you start, it’s hard to remain ignorant.
2. The Guilt of Luxury Purchases
Do you feel guilty when you buy an expensive, non-essential item? I hardly ever indulge in luxury purchases, but when I do, I almost always feel guilty.
I haven’t given in on this occasion (yet), but my eye has been on a newly released Fujifilm camera with a price tag of almost $3k.
With the cost of living so high, I feel it can be difficult to justify spending so much money on something you don’t truly need.
I also think luxury purchases like this carry weight beyond their price tags too. The decision fatigue, the second-guessing, the realisation that this purchase means you have to sacrifice more of your time to work for someone else.
Finding that balance between buying stuff that makes you happy and avoiding stuff you don’t need is a difficult one.
But man, I want that camera.
3. The Words of Andre 3k
“Thinking deeply about shallow s**t,” Andre 3000.
I was reminded this week of a quote Andre 3000 from Outkast wore on his jumpsuit when I watched him perform at Splendour in the Grass in 2014. Out of the 100+ artists I’ve seen live, that was my favourite performance.
But still, what I remember the most, was that damn quote on his jumpsuit. Think about how much of our days are spent thinking about shallow s**t that doesn’t matter. Like spending most of your week thinking about whether or not to buy a camera…that sort of thing.
And on the flip side, think about how little thought we put into deep s**t that actually matters. Not thinking deeply enough about how to change our lives for the better because our brains are at capacity from our day of scrolling.
A closing question for you
How much of your time is spent thinking about stuff that doesn’t really matter? How can you change this?
