Life Binges

I've been reading a review of a book entitled 'Binge'.

I can't bring myself to buy the actual book, because it's written by a YouTuber called Tyler Oakley and I am, quite simply, too old to buy books penned by YouTubers.

However, I am really intrigued by Oakley's philosophy.

Oakley's book, apparently, chronicles the series of binges in his life to date, not in a 'woe is me' fashion, but in a celebratory way. He encourages his followers to embrace excess, own desires and indulge them.

The intro reads Go ahead, binge....Even if I spend every waking moment attempting to keep my life in balance I'm going to f*** up. Having already f***** up quite a few times in my life, and having lived to tell the tale, I don't regret any of it. I've binged plenty of times in my life, sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. Regardless, I indulged.

Oakley implores us to cling onto those things that make us feel alive.

Now, DO NOT take this as an instruction to crack open the vino. We've been through this already, haven't we? That time is gone.

However, I find Oakley's thinking really interesting in terms of not regretting past binges, or pining over what might have been.

One of the things that made me sad when I quit drinking is the idea that I messed it all up. And the thought that maybe, if I'd only been able to be a bit more sensible, more moderate, I'd have been able to carry on drinking happily into my twilight years.

Oakley reminds me that that just isn't me! I would never have been happy having one cigarette a day, and one glass of wine. What would have been the point?

Because I am a life binger.

When I smoked, I smoked like a chimney. When I drank, I drank like a fish. When I started working in advertising, I lived and breathed that crazy world.

When I tried to combine work and motherhood, and ended up feeling like I couldn't do either whole heartedly, or properly, I quit work in order to totally binge on motherhood.

I, like Oakley, just cannot do moderation. And that's OKAY. It just means that instead of spreading everything out evenly through life, you do it all in a series of binges.

So, the big question is: what next?

I've done the nicotine binge. The alcohol binge. The motherhood binge.

How about inappropriate relationships with younger men? Online Bingo? Cage fighting?

Mmmm. Maybe my next life binge should be writing. Creating. Or exercise. Less dangerous.

So, don't feel bad about where you are, what got you here, or where you're going. Just think been there, done that. What next?

Love SM x