Potato – (noun) :
1. a starchy plant tuber which is one of the most important food crops, cooked and eaten as a vegetable
2. a person not doing anything with their life
I do not want to be a potato. In fact, its something I have been trying to avoid my entire life, without even knowing what it was that I didn’t want to be.
Potatos’ are those people you meet which are quite happy with the status quo, never seeking to better themselves nor their environment. If every night were the same, every day the same challenges, well, they would be quite happy. I am sure you can think of a few examples right this minute.
The trap, of course, is that it is so easy to become a potato. Working to get money to buy the next new shiny. Sure, money is a means to an end. And what is life if not to be comfortable? But a comfortable life does not grow character. Iron doesn’t become a sword with nice words and duck feathers. No, it becomes a sword in the fire of the furnace, between hammer and anvil. Sure time, effort and love go into crafting a fine blade, but one cannot take away the harshness it had to go through.
In this modern world, in which daylight hours are run by suits, and the only down time is the stolen hours before and after sleep, it becomes all the more easier to sit in front of an infernal box. Never doing. A box that spouts lies, and its paid for the privilege to do so. YouTube, Netflix, TV One are fantastic tools, but they should remain that – just tools.
Now, I am not saying that one must being doing something at all times. That would be madness, leading to a swift trip to a mental hospital. One needs to understand the productiveness of downtime, but not be ruled by it. The productiveness of socializing, but not be ruled by it. Even the Bible mentions how a person needs some alone time. A quite time. If not to hear God’s voice, then to hear the inner voice of desire to be a better person.
For myself, one with many plans, desires and schemes, it is hard to sit still. There is so much in this life I want to grab hold of. Its true, I spent most of my youth being a slave to entertainment, but what is youth if not wasted on the young. Now, approaching life after 30, I no longer find enjoyment in doing nothing. I suppose this is what being an adult is about. You wake up one morning and realize how much more to life there is. And everyday, I have a call to arms, a mantra, which keeps me (mostly) focused
I don’t want to be a potato.
Categories: Blog
