Doing vs. Spectating
There are so many temptations to just watch.
One time I went to a regional Burning Man type of event - a weekend of artistic and cultural creativity. It was in its first year, with maybe 50 people. The number one rule was: You are here to participate, not spectate.
I went by myself. At the check-in table an organizer was working on an art project while checking people in. I was nervous and getting my bearings, and I hesitated after checking in. The organizer said, you're welcome to grab a marker. I said, I'd rather watch.
Whoops, not quite in harmony with rule number one.
It took pattern-breaking for me to participate. I had recently spent a year watching 200+ movies, being a spectator of life. The movie era itself was a step towards life, having previously spent a year studying life through economics journals and history books.
There are so many temptations to just watch. As a kid flipping the channels, I see two professional golfers walking the 18th fairway tied for first. A great shot, or a mishap, and it's over. A life-changing win for one of them, the heartbreak of defeat for the other. So much drama. And the commentators make it sound like its the most important thing in the world, like it's only natural that I spend my one precious life watching other people live their lives.
Watching The Price is Right to see other people having fun.
Watching Who's the Boss to see other people (fictional people!) living their lives.
Some watching is good, some taking in of other peoples' stories. Stories are a great way to gain insight into the human condition and the many ways to be human. Stories give us material to engage with, or push back against, as we navigate our own lives. Shared stories give us a shared culture and rich subcultures.
And we're wired to enjoy watching. Our mirror neurons fire up when we watch other people (even fictional people!) live their lives. For quality of life in the moment, our mirror neurons make watching seem pretty good.
They say that in any social media app, 1% of people will be mostly creating content, 10% will be mostly sharing content, and 90% will be mostly consuming content. Very few doing, almost all spectating.
That might be a quirk of social media, but it might also be fundamental to human community. Perhaps a group of humans is more stable if most people are going along with whatever is happening.
As a voracious learner, it is tempting to read all the things every day (blogs, news sources, personalities). I need a reminder that the best way to learn is to participate - to put my learning into my own words, and be in dialogue with others about it. That's the plan for my current study leave. Whatever the topic is, if I'm reading about it, I'm also writing about it and talking about it.
It took discipline a few paragraphs ago to not go down rabbit holes studying mirror neurons and social media participation. For me it needs to be an ongoing decision to participate rather than ingest.
I have a theory - I hold it lightly and give it a small percentage chance of being true - that every so often people decide that there is too much accumulated knowledge. People are spending too much time taking in information (years of study) before participating in life. Religious leaders mostly quoting texts rather than thinking for themselves. People decide that something needs to be done, and what they come up with is: Burn the libraries. Then you can just do things without first taking in how other people did them. You lose accumulated knowledge, but you are free to participate in life.
It's tempting to become a spectator in life if you value expertise over contributing at whatever level you are at. Watching a professional dancer rather than dancing. Singing along with an overproduced pop song by a stranger rather than singing in your own voice.
There's going to be some sort of balance - it's not one or the other. Sometimes you'll be spectating, sometimes you'll be doing. I'm tipping my own scale closer to doing.
Photo by Peter Forster on Unsplash