He was chasing the medieval equivalent of the "torrent lifestyle"—sex, status, and the thrill of the new.
Modern entertainment is designed to be a torrent. One dopamine hit leads to the next. The algorithm feeds you more of what you just finished. You are a bucket trying to catch a waterfall. You will end up empty, bruised, and wet.
The torrent lifestyle promises freedom, but it delivers paralysis. The Francis way looks like poverty, but it delivers presence. reluctant saint francis of assisi torrent
When Francis finally stripped naked in the town square (returning his fine clothes to his furious father), he wasn’t just rejecting wealth. He was rejecting dispersion .
Here are three "Franciscan" rules for a healthier entertainment diet: He was chasing the medieval equivalent of the
Sound familiar? That is the feeling of scrolling for two hours before finding a movie you actually want to watch. Here is the brutal truth about the torrent lifestyle: A flood disperses energy. A well contains it.
He realized that a life flooded with everything leaves you with nothing . The algorithm feeds you more of what you just finished
Francis’s turning point was embracing what repulsed him. In your entertainment life, this means taking a break from the "optimized" algorithms. Read a book that is 20 years old. Watch a black-and-white film. Listen to a genre you hate. Reluctantly embrace the "un-entertaining." You will find strange joy there.
But he was deeply reluctant to let it go. In fact, his conversion was less a lightning bolt and more a slow, painful drag. He hid from a beggar. He locked himself in a cave. Even after he started praying, he kept one eye on the door, hoping a troubadour would walk by with a better offer.
Francis chose the well. He chose silence. He chose repetition (praying the same Psalms every day). He chose boredom—which is the necessary soil for true creativity and peace. I am not suggesting you give away your TV or delete your internet. But I am suggesting that Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of the burned-out binge-watcher.