Ever listen to a good song, you’re fully vibing with it from the start and then it comes to the last 20-30 seconds of the song and you think “okay skip to the next song”. Why do we do that? We’re so used to instant stimulation, we now can’t even surrender half a minute to something we were already enjoying. What time are you saving? I get the end of the song is usually just a descending instrumental to end it, but its still part of the whole craft. The artists still put effort into that conclusion. We have already enjoyed the majority of the song, so based on our own judgement, the ending is probably pretty good!
A modern day “don’t forget to smell the roses”.
I’ve sort of made it a principle for myself that if there really is only 20/30 seconds left, I am going to respect the artist and let it play out. I sometimes fail but it’s something I am cautious of. And not just respect to the artist, although that’s a reason enough, but to discipline the mind into not giving in to drops of stimulation. It’s okay to not be at a peak of stimulation every second of every day, enjoy the “down time”. I think its important to train our minds in that way. Its a small decision but it helps when you have to do it again later for a medium decision and so on and so forth.
So next time you’re listening to a great track, just sit back and listen, and let the whole song play out. Guarantee you won’t miss out of anything, life goes on and maybe your brain may even have a second of down time to just think about something other than whatever entertainment you’ve bestowed upon it.