Criticizing is a defense against joy

Flexing our intellectual muscles can be intoxicating.

Using our brains for real stretches of time is a satisfying meaning investment.

In fact, for many people, intellectual life is a form of spiritual survival. It’s a trusted weapon to stave off bitterness and despair.

And yet, there’s a fine line between expressing ourselves and taking major issue with things most people don’t care about enough to think about, much less form an opinion on.

For example, everyone has that one friend who is constantly swept away by their natural urge to criticize every goddam thing in sight. Always following some bizarre train of thought in their head, they never actually experience joy.

They just try to fix everything. Collecting injustices like beads on a string.

Which can get very exhausting very quickly. Not only for the people in their presence, but for the person themselves.

On the other hand, when we stop trying to figure out everything, and switch gears to simply enjoying it, it’s amazing how much lighter life becomes.

Remember, never underestimate the human brain’s ability to intellectualize life into a mess.

Use your mind, but never as a defense against joy.

As you criticize the trees, are you missing the beauty of the forest?