What happened when I stopped watching movies?
A world of your own.
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Let me be real. My mind and heart have conversations every second. This is not an exaggeration but the reality that I wish was not one. There were many reasons I wished to stop watching movies. But the thing that motivated me to stop sounds funny when I recall now. The last thing that I watched before making this decision was a tv series. I remember my sisters eventually stopped that series out of pure disgust or boredom. But I could not do that. I was curious to know what would happen next. A few days of watching alone did not feel good and then I stopped but my curiosity did not die. So, I quenched my thirst by knowing the whole story from my friend.
You can say I was an addict because I was one. I explored movies in all languages. I used to have long hours of discussions on how a movie could have been better. I used to watch all day whenever I got a chance. Me, my dad, siblings and cousins used to spend nights watching movies one after the other. I remember stalking celebrities (habit not died yet) and coming up with random conclusions. It was pure entertainment that I never felt the need to let go.
Every family has a unique personality, and my mother was one. She has never watched a movie. She doesn’t know what it is like. She disliked that we watched but she never stopped us. She used to advise us but never forced us to stop. Hilarious it may be, but my dad used to watch along with us but also used to stop us from going overboard. And one day, out of the ordinary, one of my siblings decided to stop. I was shocked to say the least. I never knew the complete reason why she decided to do so but I respected it. She continued for months. My mind could not grasp the fact that she could do it. We were the same type. Out of curiosity to know if I could resist something that I didn’t feel the need to because I thought it was not something big, I decided to cease watching movies.
The aftermath of the decision was horrendous. For months, I felt like something was missing. I felt out of place. I tried finding alternatives but could not find one. I even used to watch snippets of movies but defended it saying it was not an “actual” like hours long movie. I was having an internal battle. I was questioning my real reason. Eventually I realized that a part of it was spiritual and another part of it was to understand myself. It was a journey of chaos. A lot of emotions surged through me. Initially it felt hard to move on, then slowly I started to adjust.
It’s been 5 years since I stopped watching movies. I do watch stuff that aligns to my principles which is rare to find but movies are officially a no-go zone. I can say that a life without movies has made my garden greener. A few years back if someone had said that to me, I would not have believed it. Now, I understand it by the tremendous positive outcome I experience.
What we listen to and see has a profound impact on us. It broadens our mind, implants new ideas, and invites thoughts. It impacts us in a positive or negative way. Our actions and the way we talk are all influenced by it. The most subtle matter is these are things that we never notice until we reap what we have sowed.
Through these years, I realized how much movies impacted me. I had a world within me that was never reflected upon. For days, it felt super awkward when I started thinking outside the box. I felt alienated from my peers. My views, purpose and lifestyle changed. Neither was I able to fit in nor did I feel the need to. I started understanding the people around me and myself more.
When you do something that is not considered normal, you appear to be strange. That was something that I had a hard time coping with. People looked down on me not knowing my seed had sprouted with the spirit to outgrow. Some became uncomfortable around me because they could not understand where I came from. Some just smiled at me not knowing what this woman was up to and I just smiled back not even wanting to explain. Who doesn’t like to see people who become super curious to know your point of view but hold back thinking you didn’t even notice their curiosity? Such was I, enjoying the little things.
To be honest, leaving a trending world may lead one to boredom. But it seems that creativity comes out of a person when he has nothing to do. When one becomes creative, he explores. In his exploration, he eventually finds the infamous treasures. The treasures that you won’t find until you chase for it. And eventually you end up at the heart of your home. Your infamous world that you own.
