Tititainment

You gotta love cab drivers.

On my way to the city the other day my cabbie and I got chatting – mostly about how the city was flooding due to the unusually destructive deluge of rain we have just experienced.

This got him sufficiently animated, and it wasn’t long before he was giving me a sermon about the implications of global warming and how humanity’s future is doomed to starvation and domination by gangs of violent desperados.

And what’s worse, he tells me we brought this all upon ourselves by the selfish pursuit of fame and fortune, driven by greed and indifference.

Our natural resources are being consumed at an unnatural rate with a global population ballooning out of control, he said. It wasn’t what I expected on my early morning ride, but it did get me thinking.

Meandering through the internet later that day, I came across a site called the ‘urban dictionary’. Right there on the page was a word that jumped out at me – tititainment (the provision of the physical needs and entertainment of people who no longer wish to contribute to society).

I couldn’t believe it; someone had actually come up with a plausible definition.

It made me ponder on something that’s been bothering me for a while. The proliferation of reality TV shows, brain-numbing news stories about celebrities messing up and society’s obsession with continuous drama.

Even respected new journalists and media outlets are glossing over important world issues to report on sensationalist content.

Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy tuning out to the occasional mindless smash and grab movie like anyone else, but I’m also committed to contributing to society.

At the end of the day life is not about me. Life’s purpose is all about helping others and providing a better world for future generations…my kids and grandchildren.

I choose purpose over tititainment any day of the week. What about you?