Sometimes a way to make reality seem less objectionable is to spend less time in it.

There are those of us who daydream more than others, but we all have our escapes, don't we? A radio show this morning prompted listeners to call in with their current favorite releases from reality. Of course it was specifically regarding "these tough economic times" and how people responded in their choice of fantasy worlds, which began the quiet collector's wheels turning. Escapist activities like reading fiction, watching television, going to the movies, playing video games never really experience a major dip in popularity though, do they? Aren't we always doing things like this? Why do we sometimes need to be someone other than ourselves? Do we just need to occasionally leave the shell behind and let the work in progress simmer while we check out and subconsciously contemplate the next move? While our fingers punch buttons moving spaceships across screens or our brains are titillated by visual accounts of a life more luxurious than our own? Surely there is plenty of benefit in such endeavors. One of the drawbacks though, is that we can't leave the shell unattended for too long or else it wilts. Maybe the original statement isn't true. Maybe the longer you spend away from reality, the more objectionable it feels to return.