Will 50 Shades of Grey Wreck Your Brain?

While it's widely said that most men won't enjoy the book, the critics have come together in classifying the book as, "Mommy Porn." Now, there isn't a Mommy Porn section in the bookstore, so its real genre is Erotic Fiction. It's suggested that women, after getting past the graphic shock and sheer number of highly detailed BDSM sexual scenes, won't put it down. Almost as if you have to work through a shock & desensitization phase to start enjoying the content.

Interesting - It first shocks you. Then it desensitizes you. Then it entertains you.

You know what else follows that pattern? Everything else that wrecks your brain.

The first time a child snaps back at their parents is really something. The adrenaline flows. They get that rush to the head. They were frustrated, and the medicine for that frustration was to conquer the situation. It creates an emotionally heightened state. It's shocking at first. There's nervousness & anxiety there. It's there because you don't know what the outcome is yet. The first time you tell anyone off will produce that adrenalizing rush. You do it enough, and it's not very shocking anymore. You're used to it. Now it's just a part of life. With practice, that abrasiveness can come naturally. You can even get good at it. But is that a good thing?

What about drugs? That first time is really something isn't it? Didn't take much. But there's release, comfort, and mind bending pleasure there isn't there? It's all better now. Until you come down. But you have to try it again, because that first time was too sensational to leave it alone. A little more. Now it's just as good as the first time. But eventually you need more. That first time dose doesn't really do the trick anymore. You need more. Now you're back to where you want to be; cloud nine. Eventually it's routine, and you're used to it. It's a part of life now. It's not shocking anymore. You've been desensitized. You know what to expect. There's no more surprises, just temporal enjoyment. You know what it does, and you like it. You may not like that you like it, but you like it when it's there. But the law of diminishing returns continues to set in. Perhaps move to a heavier drug. Take the training wheels off. That'll do it. What happens when you chase this rope to its end?

How about lying? There was nervousness that first time. Like a shock to the system, you didn't know if your lie was going to hold water. The outcome was uncertain. Anxiety was there. Then they bought it. You got away with it, and now you can try it again. You'll be more experienced this time. You've done it a few times and you know where the line is now, or at least you think you do. How much lie can you package up and deliver? If you are good, a whole lot. But is that a good thing?

We could keep on going couldn't we? Violence, porn, drunkenness, racism, adultery, swearing, promiscuity, gossip? All of these things follow the same pattern, and all of these things wreck your brain. It just takes a little to start. You work through the shock & uncertainty. Once desensitized, you can actually find value and/or enjoyment in these things, at least for a while (until they wreck your brain). Don't worry, you don't ever have speak from your mouth that you value these things. That would be awkward. Your time, your money, and your actions will say it for you. The problem is that we humans are really bad at listening to ourselves. Once we have the entertainment blinders on, we turn a blind eye to the message our time, money & actions are telling us. We can even get real good at some of these brain wrecking activities. Our culture might even reward us for it.

But is that a good thing?

Legitimately, some of us read & do things that we don't know are bad for us. That is ignorance. It needs education. It needs investigation, and proper assessment. When you didn't know basic arithmetic, you were taught. You turned ignorance into knowledge. You can do that with the rest of life too. Turn foolishness into wisdom. If you don't know if something is good or bad, then find out. Ask someone you trust. Ask someone whose approval of you is valuable.

On the flip side, some of us read & do things we know are bad for us. That isn't ignorance, it's stupidity. Certainly no one wakes up in the morning and looks in the mirror to say, "You know what I want to do today? I want to be stupid. I want to excel in stupidity. I know stupid actions produce problems, and I choose to be stupid, and I'm looking forward to the problems." No one with 1% of their brain functioning can honestly say that... with their mouth.

Maybe you've read this before: The wages of sin is death.

I think many of us have heard or read that before, but I also think many of us haven't investigated the meaning of it. It's straight out of the world's number one best selling book. The reward for engaging sin is death. Not necessarily the kind of death where you are literally six feet under. You're not going to die if you read the book. But you'll kill off a little piece of your brain (heart, or body) that is still good. Just like adultery kills marriage, porn kills intimacy, and lying kills trust; to knowingly engage in something that will wreck your brain will kill off that precious part of your brain that's still good. Once it's gone, it's a naked in the winter's climb up Mount Everest to repair it.

Don't wreck your brain.

6/13/2012