You cannot exercise free will in an economy where your attention is constantly commodified
I've been thinking a lot about what it means to exist versus consume. Not in some abstract philosophical way. In the very practical, daily, "how do I move through the world" way. Because here's what I'm noticing: those who are evolving in this hellscape notice too: Most of us are so busy performing existence that we're not actually experiencing life.
It's a set-up
You wake up. Check your phone. Scroll. Get dressed for whoever's going to see you today—the algorithm, your boss, followers, family. You move through your day responding to demands, pre-approvals you didn't set. You measure your worth by metrics you didn't choose. You optimize for goals you're not even sure you believe in.
And at the end of it, you're exhausted. But from what? What did you actually do for yourself?
Crabs would never willingly go into a bucket. They are tricked and trapped. Think about that when someone tells you that people naturally act against their own interests. That they willingly participate in their own oppression. That they choose exploitation. No one chooses the bucket. They're deceived about what it is, and by the time they realize, the lid is on.
What is the distinction?
We're living in systems designed to extract everything from us: our time, our attention, our creativity, our labor, our relationships. And we're told this is freedom. This is choice. This is just how things work.
But you cannot exercise free will in an economy where your attention is constantly commodified.
Your attention isn't yours. It's inventory. Every scroll, every click, every pause —tracked, analyzed, monetized. And the exhaustion you feel isn't a sign of personal failure. It's the system working exactly as designed. Stripping you of your autonomy, self-determination, and ability to set intentions for yourself.
I am not ruled by time or money. That's not a flex. That's a boundary. That's the line I draw between who I am and what the system wants me to be.
I'm not here to consume under capitalism. I'm here to exist. And existing, just being, without justification, without optimization, without constantly proving your worth —is a radical act.
So here's what I'm curious about: Where do you exist without consuming? Where in your life have you created space that isn't transactional, isn't performative, isn't being extracted from?
And if you can't think of anywhere, if every part of your life has been colonized by the logic of productivity and profit, what would it look like to reclaim even one small space?
Not as a consumer. As a person. As yourself.
Sometimes you don't need a profound experience. Sometimes you just need to resonate in the fact that this experience —right now, this ordinary moment— is profound. You're alive. You're here. That's it. That's the whole thing.
What does it mean to be human in systems designed to dehumanize us? How do we stay ourselves when everything wants to flatten us into data points.
What are you consuming versus existing?
What can you create if there were no performance? No optimization. No transaction. Just you. Here. Now.
Ok, go think about it. I love you. <3