DrivenHeart85

I've been thinking about people who say "they're not here for a long time, but they're here for a good time". Which usually means, I'm assuming, to partake in a lot of drugs, alcohol, junk food, etc.

Has anyone ever thought that as far as "having a good time" goes, they're completely doing it wrong?? lol Seems like our culture sees gluttony with food, alcohol, risky sexual behavior as a "good time". As a non-drinker pursuing healthy eating habits, I know I'll hear it from someone soon, "You only live once, so why not indulge, live a little?"

Is it just me or is our culture oblivious of the fact that they're not having a good time at all with the heavy drinking and eating? I mean, who's really happy to wake up hungover, eat some junk food, sit on the couch and repeat? Seems like "I'm not here for a long time but here for a good time" is just one big lie people tell themselves to justify unhealthy behavior. Sure, the daily exercising, healthy eating, non-drinking person lives a more restricted life but I'd bet good money that they're the ones actually having a good time and are happy in life.

Just a thought along my journey.

jamdls

That's a current George Strait song "Here for a good time" and I always change the station when it comes on the radio cause it's annoying. I don't think the majority of people are heavy drinkers, gluttons, drug abusers, promiscuous, etc it's just that's what's shown in pop culture so people often think that's the norm. I have a 30 yr old daughter who has a very active social life and they are having "a good time" yet none are heavy drinkers nor drug users nor sleeping around.

DrivenHeart85

Gosh, I really need my iPhone so I can listen to Pandora instead of the radio. Pop culture is seeping into my brain cells. lol

lostbutterfly

It does seem that we need to consume to enjoy ourselves in our culture. And over-consume! We also seem to think that life owes us a good time, well, I do!

Paraffin

Interesting isn't it?

Many people (myself included) call their friends the following day and say "Wasn't last night awesome?" then fail to follow that up with "I really enjoyed stumbling to the bathroom at 4am this morning with my trousers still hanging off one leg in desperate need for a drink of water, I've been stuck on the toilet for 3 hours because of that crap i ate from the burger van, my unmentionables are itching after that unprotected sex I had last night, that girl from 7 months ago just got in touch-she's heavily pregnant, I wet the bed last night and was so embarrassed when that guy i met woke up next to me complaining etc, etc, etc.........


Ahhh.....the good times.

DrivenHeart85

Yes Paraffin, that sounds about right! Country singers should pop in that as lyrics some time so things are a smidge more truthful. lol

DrivenHeart85

Ok, I've solved our culture's problem. We're always trying to consume so that must mean we think we're missing something...maybe our culture is spiritually ill. lol We're like swiss cheese and we keep trying to fill ourselves in but with the wrong stuff. Watch out. I'm the next Dalai Lama....oh yeah.

Pigtails

Yes, having a good time is usually equated with excess. But those are the things people turn to when they are trying to escape their own lives. So I don't think they are having a good/fun time at all. At least I wasn't when I was doing those things.

I do hate how alcohol and partying and material things and casual sex etc. are glorified in pop culture. I got caught in a vicious cycle about 8 years ago of listening to hip hop and going out and partying... to me the two things went hand and hand and now I still like hip hop but it triggers me and I try to listen to more inspirational music with a better purpose. On the other hand when I hear dance/techno music I really want to go to a club and dance, but not necessarily for the drugs/drinking part of it... I just like to dance... so I try to listen to that for motivation to clean my apartment or while bored and driving etc... to pump me up in a good way without letting it encourage the old side of me that used to think partying was a good way to have fun. It so wasn't.

Pigtails

I think you're onto something. I have to remind myself that just because alcohol and the party lifestyle is glorified doesn't mean it's a good or healthy thing. It could mean that people are capitalizing on my sense of desperation and emptiness that comes from being in a culture that is spirtitually bankrupt and always looking for the next quick fix or high. It is a self-perpetuating cycle I need to stop believing in so that I can break out of it and move onto something better for me.

DrivenHeart85

Beautifully put Pigtails! I agree with you whole-heartedly on those two posts, especially the second one!!

That kind of music always went straight to my head in college and I would listen to it while getting ready to go out, at the bars, etc. Even now it makes me feel so gullible to know how it has affected me and how it still does but it really just is people trying to profit off of a cultural problem. Sometimes I feel bad for not "going with the flow" anymore but the flow sucks, it really does. lol

Programmatic

I think I remember, somewhere at the beginning, it really was pretty fun. Then it wasn't but I kept chasing that dragon claiming I'd touched his tail every now and then. Also, at some point I'd forgotten that anything else could be as much or more fun. Even those things should be more fun when combined with drugs and alcohol.

A big part of my recovery was rediscovering the immense joy to be had in the simple and even mundane.

Jay1980

Television doesn't help either. Look what the 18-35 year old people are watching (according to the ratings): Jersey Shore, The Real World, Real Housewives of Wherever. They glorify getting wasted. And these morons go on these shows, get completely annihilated, make millions and young people think it's "cool". It's disgusting.

gaffo

Alcohol was fun. So were model electric trains. That was then this is now.

lostbutterfly

Lets be honest, we all had some good times at the beginning. Otherwise we wouldn't have kept doing it long enough to get addicted. Then the bad started outweighing the good and we tried to stop and ... Well, here we all are!
I think we have a lot to learn from other cultures, they manage on so much less than we do.

instant

agreed. How you define "good time" is the issue. I let alcohol define it for me for way to long.

ForeverDecember

I completely agree with your sentiment, however I have to admit, minus the hangover, the sentence above sounds like bliss at the moment lol! I wish work would quieten down already so I could just have a veg-out night.

NYCDoglvr

When I got sober it was surprising to discover that only addicts/alcoholics think this way. Non-alcoholics have no comprehension of what you're talking about. In 20 years of sobriety the only people who comment on me not drinking are alcoholics (and Europeans, because it's standard to have wine with dinner and they are being gracious).