What Goes In...

"Garbage in, garbage out," Mom said. Over... and over... and over, throughout my childhood. (Kind of like Dad's favorite phrase: "Repetition is the mother of learning... repetition is the mother of learning... repetition is the mother of learning." Definitely related to the whole "Pete and Re-Pete were on a boat" joke; all eliciting equal amounts of groaning and eye rolling from us kids.)

But, despite the cheese, Mom was right! #youwinmom

I've been realizing something more and more lately: stories form us. They mold the way we think, the way we respond to the situations we face, and the kind of people we want to be. They shape our expectations about life, and our ideas of where true happiness lies. Heck, they even influence our dreams! I've found that, if I can even remember my dream from the night before, I can trace the ideas/situations/people in the dream back to a movie or TV show I watched, a book I read, or a conversation I had. It's actually kind of creepy... but it really is true. And, even though I know we're not responsible for the things we do (or say or think) in our dreams, I've still found that they reveal something about myself (for good or ill).

For instance, I have a friend who regularly has dreams about the saints. That doesn't just randomly happen! What actually happens is that she reads a lot about the saints, thinks about them, and has relationships with them. Their lives are the stories that shape her imagination and capture her heart; she measures her own life - and her ideas about what it means to be truly happy and fulfilled - against theirs.

Personally, I've noticed that the more chick flicks I watch, the less satisfied I am with life. For girls, I think this is probably pretty common! We see a super cute, romantic couple having so much fun together... and then we compare this "perfect" life to our own situations (another trap my mom always warned me about!). 

(Side note: my weakness is Jim and Pam on "The Office." Seriously, so cute. Can't even handle it. But then I remember that they both had mind-numbingly boring jobs, their boss was a freak, and it took about three agonizing years for them to get together, and I feel better.)

Anywhoozles. Basically, I've realized that there's that... and then there's the incredible talks I listen to online by people like Chris Stefanick, Mark Hart, Jackie Francois and Fr. Mike Schmitz (just type any of their names into YouTube and enjoy). There's stuff that I do to "pass the time" and distract myself from reality... and then there are the books, music, movies, etc. that I use to run toward reality, to plunge into it head-on. (I guess you don't plunge with your head; but you get the point.)

I'm not saying, by the way, that fiction is only a distraction. The right stories, whether or not they are "real," can shape us for greatness. Just look at little kids who play make-believe! They want an adventure, to be courageous and amazing, beautiful and kind. The boys want to be knights and the girls want to be Cinderella; no one wants to be the wicked stepsisters!

So, this is my friendly reminder (mostly to myself!) to be aware of what you watch, what you read, who you hang out with, etc. Again, kind of sounds like something that my mom would say to me as a teenager. But if you're a grown-up, no one is going to make you, anymore!