Distraction and Escape II

Author’s note: This is part two of the contemplation titled ‘Distraction and Escape’, which was published on January 14th, 2025. If you have not read part one, click this link before continuing here.

In part one, we discussed the four major culprits of distraction and escape: cell phones, TV, shows, movies, and video games. These vices, if we do not control them, will lull us into a fitful slumber as life’s fleeting moments slip through our fingers.

Furthermore, we also encountered the four central statements listed below.

‘If we ask no questions, we cannot find answers.

If we have no purpose, our lives are meaningless.

If we try to escape responsibility, we stand for nothing.

And if we try to escape reality, we are fleeing from God.’

Today, we will take a closer look at the first two.

If we ask no questions, we cannot find answers.

By now, it may seem like we have beaten to death this topic of asking questions (quest, sheep). Let me assure you it is still alive and well, and there is still plenty more to cover.

Picture an archaeologist standing in a field. The ground surrounding him is flat, save for a small hill that stretches from one side of the field to the other. This archaeologist could draw a simple conclusion and say, ‘There is a hill in this field’. He could then pack up his tools, and head home.

Or...

He could say, ‘Why is there a hill in the middle of a flat field? I wonder if something is beneath it.’ He would then get his shovel and start digging, looking for answers. After removing only a few feet of dirt, he finds some rocks. ‘Interesting’, he thinks to himself, ‘Why are there rocks in the middle of a field?’

He keeps digging and soon comes across more rocks that are held together by a material that appears to be mortar. ‘Is this a wall? Who built it? How old is it?’, the archaeologist mumbles under his breath.

Several feet deeper, he unearths shards of pottery and a Roman coin with the unmistakable image of Marcus Aurelius minted upon it. More questions flood his head. ‘What type of wall is this? Could it date back to the Roman Empire? Was the wall of significance during the Middle Ages?

The irony in this archaeologist's search for answers is that he encountered more questions than answers. The beauty in his quest is that these new questions are ones he did not even know to ask in the first place.

He cannot ask what structure the rocks belong to if he does not know any rocks are hidden beneath the surface. He cannot ask when the wall was built if he does not know the wall exists. Only through asking and digging can he better understand why there is a hill in the middle of the field.

In much the same way, we must also ask questions. They will lead us to further questions, which will, in turn, allow us to ask even more profound ones. And so, we embark on a journey to find the truth instead of staring at the hill, thinking we have already found it.

If we fail to ask questions about life, ourselves, God, and the world, we are doomed to stumble about, blindly believing we have all the answers.

As Epictetus said, ‘It's impossible to learn that which you think you already know.’

And if we ask no questions, we cannot find answers.

If we have no purpose, our lives are meaningless.

A chair is built to sit on. A mug is made to hold coffee.

And what happens when the chair wobbles, one leg goes missing, and the wood begins to crack? What happens when it is irreparably broken and no longer serves its purpose?

You take it apart and throw it away.

And what happens when the handle of the mug breaks off, a crack causes the coffee to leak, and you swallow paint chips with each sip?

You take one last picture of it – we’ll call it a mugshot – and then you throw it away. Mugs serve a purpose; if a mug isn’t mugging, it has lost its purpose.

We humans are not simple objects. Each of us is a living creature designed with a conscience, a brain, a language, decision-making capabilities, and much more. If even a small coffee mug has a purpose - a very important one for us coffee drinkers, I may add – then imagine the significance of the purposes that we as humans can choose to embody.

I believe there is no greater purpose than to love my God with all my heart, will all my soul, and with all my mind, as well as loving my neighbor and living out all that these two things entail.

We can so easily be pulled from purpose and allow weeks, months, and even years to pass without pushing forward. And if we lack purpose, then why are we here? We were certainly not created to fritter away our time with inaction – unless, of course, that becomes one’s noble purpose in life.

What do these two topics have to do with distraction?

We love distractions, and we love entertainment.

Both keep us from finding silence in which we can listen to our thoughts, reflect on our day, and judge our own behavior.

Both keep us from wrestling with questions that would help us grow in areas of importance. These questions are deep, important, uncomfortable questions: the type of questions that, when they arise, make us reach for our phone to forget them:

Is my faith genuine, or am I just fitting in and playing my role? Do I need to dig deeper?

What fears do I have that lie beneath the surface and touch every aspect of my life, holding me back?

What relationships in my life are not all they could be and must be pushed into?

We cannot have a meaningful purpose without asking questions since we have not even searched for one. Without questions, we can only live for superficial things. There is no other option.

Thus, distractions and entertainment render us blind and useless.