You know what really grinds my gears? The fact that there’s now a name for everything, even for sitting on a plane and doing nothing! It’s called “raw-dogging flights” now. Really? Can't it just be me, minding my own damn business on a flight, and others doing the same? One of the few pleasures I have left is the ability to not bother anybody and not be bothered.
Listen, the whole airport routine—from getting there on time, boarding the plane, sitting in my seat, getting up when I need to, and finally getting off and out of the airport—should be a basic human right to do however the hell you want, as long as you're not bugging anyone. I get it, no one's saying you can’t raw-dog a flight. But come on! Sometimes, a person just wants to get on a plane and zone out.
Personally, I love the gentle sound of the airplane. I like that little map that shows where you are in the universe. I like not having to lug around a bunch of crap. I like not having to remember a single thing when I leave the plane. And you know what? It’s less junk my seatmate has to deal with, too.
Ultimately, the minimalist approach is more my style. Who needs all that stuff on a flight? Phone, tablet, laptop, earphones of all varieties, bags of food, mugs, backpacks, carry-ons, personal items, reading material, hand sanitizer, fishing poles, tennis rackets, glow-in-the-dark build-a-bears. What the hell is wrong with you people? Just get on the plane, sit your ass down, and appreciate the simplicity of a quiet flight!
Realizing I sound like a lunatic. The first step is admiting there's a problem.
I like that people are trying to get mindful - especially about travel. And maybe a challenge makes it more acceptable. On the other hand, man alive, lord almighty, have mercy sweet baby jeebus, we gotta stop naming things. I can't help but think that giving things names like rawdogging a flight makes people more self-conscious (and not in a good way) about deciding to forgo stuff on a plane.
K. Remember when I made a big deal about this. Weeellllll, it just so happened that on July 4 I took a flight to Austin (and a return trip on July 8). And on that flight I turned to my wife and said, "You know what really grinds my gears....etc etc etc." She politely rolled her eyes and put her headphones on.
Un-phased, I decided, "Yep. Let's turn on the map and relax. Gonna be a 3 hour flight, got no time to really get into anything, just me, my map, and HOLD ON A SEC!"
Anyways, I quote rawdogged unquote the flight to and from Austin. And am gonna do the same next week on my flight to/from Little Rock. Eff it, you know?
Ten years ago a team of psychologists at the University of Virginia did a study that found 70% of men and 25% of women would rather administer themselves electric shocks than be alone in a room with nothing but their own thoughts and the shock machine after anywhere from 6-15 MINUTES! The majority of men, and 1/4 of women "chose to give themselves a mild electric shock rather than be deprived of external sensory stimuli" for less than 15 damn minutes. This is why we can't have nice things, lol.
I'm a mindfulness & meditation coach, pre-pandemic when I still travelled on planes I routinely meditated the whole flight, eyes closed (no visual stimulation) but awake, and it would go by in what felt like 5 minutes (a 10 hour flight).
So good for these men for challenging themselves! Now try it with your eyes closed lightweights, heh.
i love your comment, thank you for sharing this study with us!! So interesting that this was harder for men than women...I wonder why??! Keep up your amazing work!
Thank you, and you're welcome! I love your writing!!
I hypothesize it's harder for men because they need to push away uncomfortable thoughts, feelings, and emotions (that likely arise without any other distractions) more than women who learn to deal with discomfort on a daily basis living under patriarchy. This is why many people, again mostly men, have a hard time learning to meditate, because to sit without any stimulation often surfaces the very things we do not want to think about. Meditating can be quite difficult initially, because you have to wade through the truth of your life before you get to any rainbows or calm, clear pools of serenity, lol. 😉
I've been through some incredibly challenging difficulties the last few years, at times it has certainly made meditating more challenging, even unpleasant as I move through trauma. Like most things mindfulness & meditation are a continual practice with ebbs and flows. When I'm challenged I know it will be temporary if I keep with it, if I don't keep with it I'm stunting myself in a place I don't want to be. Nothing is permanent, all we can ask is that we learn to live with, and move with, our hurts with more grace and acceptance. Perhaps you can find some gratitude for the harms of the world you haven't had to experience from the positions of privilege you do have. 💙
I like Kareem’s interpretation: a kindness to yourself. Rest your eyes and brain. Eat when hungry. Drink when thirsty. Walk around when you need. Connect with someone if the opportunity arises. I love it.
I love to sit quietly in the park or my yard, listening to nature and observing life- humans and birds and bugs and plants. Should we bring “rawdogging” outside?!
Imagine a whole family airplane “rawdogging” challenge, kids too! Reminds me of the silent game (the one my parents employed on family car trips occasionally, IYKYK). It’s a privilege to rawdog when traveling with kids because if the kids aren’t raw dogging too, someone needs to care for them. I’ve seen mostly moms seated next to the kids to entertain, feed, and attend to their needs the whole flight. Dads, you could trade off rawdogging flights with mom or invite the whole family. Do it together and make it a fun family memory!
December 1981, 6am at the registration office at the University of Minnesota, before climate change — and Reagan — made December in Minnesota balmy, bundled up for -4°F, full backpack of hard-cover textbooks, registration forms for classes in hand, lined up with a few hundred students, about 50 or so who got there before I did, up a curved granite staircase, boiler heat BLASTING from floor grates… and patiently staring ahead and standing as the line moved slowly, on step at a time as the registration folks processed the people before me, first checking to make sure the class was still available and then moved over to the actual desk where they committed to taking and paying for them.
One excruciating student at a time. Repeat each quarter, three times a year, twice in the summer. No online registration, repeat the line if one of your classes was full by the time you got to the top of the stairs.
I tell people the only useful life skill I learned in college was how to wait on line without losing my mind.
Raw-dogging flights, in a climate controlled aircraft? Child’s play. 😀😀 I had no idea this was a thing. I just thought it was disassociating with your environment to survive an intolerable condition. You can survive anything as long as there is a deadline… why I never understood why Survivor was a thing, but I guess it got easier which is why they had to amp up the challenges. It’s only 39 days.
You know what really grinds my gears? The fact that there’s now a name for everything, even for sitting on a plane and doing nothing! It’s called “raw-dogging flights” now. Really? Can't it just be me, minding my own damn business on a flight, and others doing the same? One of the few pleasures I have left is the ability to not bother anybody and not be bothered.
Listen, the whole airport routine—from getting there on time, boarding the plane, sitting in my seat, getting up when I need to, and finally getting off and out of the airport—should be a basic human right to do however the hell you want, as long as you're not bugging anyone. I get it, no one's saying you can’t raw-dog a flight. But come on! Sometimes, a person just wants to get on a plane and zone out.
Personally, I love the gentle sound of the airplane. I like that little map that shows where you are in the universe. I like not having to lug around a bunch of crap. I like not having to remember a single thing when I leave the plane. And you know what? It’s less junk my seatmate has to deal with, too.
Ultimately, the minimalist approach is more my style. Who needs all that stuff on a flight? Phone, tablet, laptop, earphones of all varieties, bags of food, mugs, backpacks, carry-ons, personal items, reading material, hand sanitizer, fishing poles, tennis rackets, glow-in-the-dark build-a-bears. What the hell is wrong with you people? Just get on the plane, sit your ass down, and appreciate the simplicity of a quiet flight!
Realizing I sound like a lunatic. The first step is admiting there's a problem.
I like that people are trying to get mindful - especially about travel. And maybe a challenge makes it more acceptable. On the other hand, man alive, lord almighty, have mercy sweet baby jeebus, we gotta stop naming things. I can't help but think that giving things names like rawdogging a flight makes people more self-conscious (and not in a good way) about deciding to forgo stuff on a plane.
K. Remember when I made a big deal about this. Weeellllll, it just so happened that on July 4 I took a flight to Austin (and a return trip on July 8). And on that flight I turned to my wife and said, "You know what really grinds my gears....etc etc etc." She politely rolled her eyes and put her headphones on.
Un-phased, I decided, "Yep. Let's turn on the map and relax. Gonna be a 3 hour flight, got no time to really get into anything, just me, my map, and HOLD ON A SEC!"
Anyways, I quote rawdogged unquote the flight to and from Austin. And am gonna do the same next week on my flight to/from Little Rock. Eff it, you know?
Ten years ago a team of psychologists at the University of Virginia did a study that found 70% of men and 25% of women would rather administer themselves electric shocks than be alone in a room with nothing but their own thoughts and the shock machine after anywhere from 6-15 MINUTES! The majority of men, and 1/4 of women "chose to give themselves a mild electric shock rather than be deprived of external sensory stimuli" for less than 15 damn minutes. This is why we can't have nice things, lol.
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1250830?
I'm a mindfulness & meditation coach, pre-pandemic when I still travelled on planes I routinely meditated the whole flight, eyes closed (no visual stimulation) but awake, and it would go by in what felt like 5 minutes (a 10 hour flight).
So good for these men for challenging themselves! Now try it with your eyes closed lightweights, heh.
i love your comment, thank you for sharing this study with us!! So interesting that this was harder for men than women...I wonder why??! Keep up your amazing work!
Thank you, and you're welcome! I love your writing!!
I hypothesize it's harder for men because they need to push away uncomfortable thoughts, feelings, and emotions (that likely arise without any other distractions) more than women who learn to deal with discomfort on a daily basis living under patriarchy. This is why many people, again mostly men, have a hard time learning to meditate, because to sit without any stimulation often surfaces the very things we do not want to think about. Meditating can be quite difficult initially, because you have to wade through the truth of your life before you get to any rainbows or calm, clear pools of serenity, lol. 😉
I'm sorry for your loss.
I've been through some incredibly challenging difficulties the last few years, at times it has certainly made meditating more challenging, even unpleasant as I move through trauma. Like most things mindfulness & meditation are a continual practice with ebbs and flows. When I'm challenged I know it will be temporary if I keep with it, if I don't keep with it I'm stunting myself in a place I don't want to be. Nothing is permanent, all we can ask is that we learn to live with, and move with, our hurts with more grace and acceptance. Perhaps you can find some gratitude for the harms of the world you haven't had to experience from the positions of privilege you do have. 💙
Raw dogging a flight seemed insane to me but after reading the interview with Kareem I’m convinced. The next time I take a flight I’m raw dogging it.
you're describing exactly how i felt too!!
I get the challenge, but not for me. Especially on a long haul flight. Though I have been interested in silent retreats
I like Kareem’s interpretation: a kindness to yourself. Rest your eyes and brain. Eat when hungry. Drink when thirsty. Walk around when you need. Connect with someone if the opportunity arises. I love it.
I love to sit quietly in the park or my yard, listening to nature and observing life- humans and birds and bugs and plants. Should we bring “rawdogging” outside?!
Imagine a whole family airplane “rawdogging” challenge, kids too! Reminds me of the silent game (the one my parents employed on family car trips occasionally, IYKYK). It’s a privilege to rawdog when traveling with kids because if the kids aren’t raw dogging too, someone needs to care for them. I’ve seen mostly moms seated next to the kids to entertain, feed, and attend to their needs the whole flight. Dads, you could trade off rawdogging flights with mom or invite the whole family. Do it together and make it a fun family memory!
yes we talk about mindful eating (only eating when you’re hungry) but thinking about how that would apply to technology is so interesting!!
December 1981, 6am at the registration office at the University of Minnesota, before climate change — and Reagan — made December in Minnesota balmy, bundled up for -4°F, full backpack of hard-cover textbooks, registration forms for classes in hand, lined up with a few hundred students, about 50 or so who got there before I did, up a curved granite staircase, boiler heat BLASTING from floor grates… and patiently staring ahead and standing as the line moved slowly, on step at a time as the registration folks processed the people before me, first checking to make sure the class was still available and then moved over to the actual desk where they committed to taking and paying for them.
One excruciating student at a time. Repeat each quarter, three times a year, twice in the summer. No online registration, repeat the line if one of your classes was full by the time you got to the top of the stairs.
I tell people the only useful life skill I learned in college was how to wait on line without losing my mind.
Raw-dogging flights, in a climate controlled aircraft? Child’s play. 😀😀 I had no idea this was a thing. I just thought it was disassociating with your environment to survive an intolerable condition. You can survive anything as long as there is a deadline… why I never understood why Survivor was a thing, but I guess it got easier which is why they had to amp up the challenges. It’s only 39 days.