Watching a therapist on YouTube last night I was struck by the irony in his “hacks” to get through depressive episodes. Basically, he suggested leveraging convenience to keep from spiraling deeper into the funk. He used the example of a lawnmower: if a tool can make it easier to get out of bed and cut the grass, well, use it. At least you’re getting something accomplished. Instead of going to the store, use a delivery service. Cook a week’s worth of meals at one time and refrigerate them.
These are helpful tips for sure, but the irony is that the pandemic of depression is a result of all this convenience in the first place.
The curse of convenience is that it turns ritual into routine. Even an animal’s landmarks and pathways (which guarantee that here will be the bush with those good seeds, or there will be the spot with that cool water) turn the days actions into mindless routines.
There is a virtue to this: it allows the senses to remain alert.
But do all our human conveniences – our kuerig machines, computers, and cars do the same? That, I suppose, is an open question.