Distraction

There are a multitude of benefits to modern life—leisure time being chief among them. But if we’re filling that leisure time with meaningless—or worse, harmful—distractions, it can lead to feelings of ennui, nihilism, and purposelessness.

Distraction isn’t always bad. Sometimes we can use a good distraction. The problem comes when distractions divert us from our goals, when they eat away at our sense of purpose and turn us into slaves of our unconscious programs, spells, and stories. Our energy is limited. It’s misguided to spend our thoughts on things that take us off the path.

Online, we’re constantly being bombarded with spells of distraction that affect our psyches with outrage, fear porn, and flat-out lies. And the people behind those unhealthy distractions often have ulterior motives, like selling our data, or agitating us for more clicks and ad revenue. Online magicians want our attention, and they’ll get it any way they can—through temptation, through outrage, through envy. And what we pay attention to expands.

Distraction can be a spell. But are we casting it on ourselves? Or has someone cast it on us?

The Symbols:

Modern distractions fill this card—sweets, spirits, screens. If we give them too much attention, they’ll expand in our lives and take us down paths we’ll regret.

The Questions:

Is the situation a distraction? Or is something distracting you from dealing with it? Who or what have you allowed to own your attention? What are you filling your free time with?