ON BEING CONSUMED—AND WHY IT MIGHT SAVE YOU
In a Crumbling World, Our Deepest Passions Might Be Our Salvation
I remembered an old story while walking in the woods today. I don’t recall its full context, but I remember my mother telling me this:
“When your brother was young, he sat at the piano and banged away like children do. When your sister came along, she did the same. But when you sat down at the piano, you made music.”
My response was immediate: “Well, Mama, why the hell don’t I know how to play piano?”
I took a couple of years of lessons before quitting. Now, I can barely play a tune. Mama told me she saw my talent early on and believed I’d be so good it would consume me, so she didn’t want to push me.
What the hell is wrong with being consumed by something you love?
I’ve thought about this story many times. It makes me sad and angry. I didn’t get the support to master something that might have brought me deep joy. I wasn’t encouraged to pursue much of anything—except getting married and having children. That was the extent of what they could envision for me.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about the idea of being consumed. I notice how easy it is to be consumed by social media, outrage cycles, and the endless noise of the world unraveling. I wonder if, at some point, being consumed was a survival strategy. Maybe it was how I coped with the trauma of my childhood. Maybe being consumed by something I loved would have diverted too much attention from what I needed to survive.
I was a highly sensitive, hyper-alert child. Always scanning. Always watching. Tracking an alcoholic mother and other dangers. My consumption wasn’t passion—it was vigilance. It kept me safe and tethered to reality when everything else felt unsteady. To focus elsewhere might have been risky.
And now, as the world around us crumbles, I can feel that old hyper-alertness kicking back in. That same desperate need to track every shift, every sign of danger. But today, walking in the woods, another thought came:
What if I allow myself to be consumed by something I love instead?
What if I choose to be consumed by creation instead of focusing on collapse?
What could I bring to life? How might I show up? What difference could I make if I poured my energy into what is good, true, and beautiful instead of getting lost in the wreckage? What might I help usher in?
Some are celebrating the collapse. Others are terrified. But what if I—what if we—hold steady? What if we bring our very best selves to this crumbling world? What if we focus not on what is falling apart but on what is waiting to be born?
I won’t pretend it’s easy. Tearing myself away from the crumble feels unsafe. It’s familiar. But I am not a helpless child anymore. I am a capable, creative, grown-ass woman. I am not here to watch the world unravel.
I am here to shape something new out of the rubble.
Society has long feared people consumed by their passions—especially women. We are taught to be measured, not to take up too much space, and not to let our passions tip into something uncontrollable. But what if that is precisely what the world needs? What if the old systems collapsing now were built on the suppression of passion, deep focus, and wild creative energy? What if our immersion in what we love is not indulgence but revolution?
We often talk about consumption as a danger—obsession, addiction, burnout. But what if the real threat is disengagement? Apathy? Living in a constant state of reaction instead of intention? Maybe being consumed is how we reclaim something essential, something primal, and something powerful enough to birth a new way of being.
Because the truth is, we are all consumed by something. The question isn’t whether we’ll be consumed, but by what?
I want to experiment with this idea of being consumed. Not in a protective, fear-driven, old survival way, but in a bold, courageous, life-changing way.
What if I trust that I am held and supported—by forces seen and unseen? What if I believe that I am here, at this exact time, because the world needs what I have to offer? What if we all trust that? What joy might we feel if we showed up fully despite the crumbling? What might we, together, be able to create?
We’ve known for a long time that change is needed. We’ve craved it. Maybe we weren’t consumed enough to make it happen.
Maybe that time is now.
So I ask you: What consumes you? What have you been afraid to give yourself entirely to? What might happen if you surrendered to the pull of what calls you?
Let’s find out together.
Please share your thoughts in the comments. I’d love to hear what this stirs in you. If it resonates, please share it with someone who needs to hear it. If you want more conversations like this, hit the subscribe button. A “like” goes a long way. 🤗
I started writing about just this today, but I have been so afraid of posting it. Thank you for leading the way!
Wise, insightful and powerful words to let marinate. Thanks Carla for sharing!
What am I most consumed TODAY is a great question? I am guessing it changes in seasons of life and in times of difficulties and challenges. I am also feeling that there is a giant theme in the backdrop of my psyche that’s there through it all. I am going to continue to sit with this question and see what emerges!!
Keep writing Carla! And it’s never too late to pick music back up! That’s another clear gift you have to share with this world that is uniting instead dividing!🙏❤️