I still remember a newsletter published by one of my English teachers in High School for his students. It was called, “The Muse.” Really cool title…if only I would have appreciated it then as much as I appreciate that word now.
The definition of the word “muse” is: To think.
Add the letter “a”, creating “amuse,” and you get the opposite: To not think.
So what does it really mean to be “amused“?
We have amusement parks, where you can go “not think” for a day, or two, or three. Not so bad…unless…
Unless you live in what I like to call a “Constant State of Amusement.”
We live in a world filled with deception, constantly selling lies and misdirecting us from the stuff that really matters. And we too often buy those lies, simply because we choose to turn off our minds and let the world do our thinking for us.
Maybe the best goal you can set for 2012 is simply to learn to think for yourself. If you don’t, there are plenty of media and entertainment executives that will gladly do that for you.
How about you? What do you do to participate in activities that keep you from living your life only on Facebook, in front of a television, or behind a People magazine? Do you or your family have any systems in place that encourage engaging activities that actually promote thinking?
I’m sure you have plenty of things you’d love to do this new year. But what would you like to do less of in 2012? Maybe “being amused” should be on that list.
Because it’s way too easy to be deceived…
Tags: amused, constant state of amusement, deception, goals for 2012, muse, stop doing list
