Football season is fully underway and usually I would be hooting and howling at every spectacular catch. I still appreciate a good play but I can’t get out of my head the image of some players beating their wives and driving recklessly.
The Olympics and soccer world cup are on the horizon to include USA sites. I certainly support our teams. However, I’m more interested in record breaking performances and magnificent physicality no matter what uniform the player wears.
Election season is fully underway and I still appreciate the value of voting and the democratic process. But the specter of corruption, dark money and jerrymandering has jaded me. I’m dreading the presidential debates and the State of The Union addresses since they have deteriorated into shouting matches and dog & pony shows.
I still engage in light hearted conversations spanning the topics of weather, sports and traffic but I hunger for more substantive, meaningful exchanges.
I’ve pursued the American Dream, got educated, raised kids, bought cars and property, paid off all debts. I’ve lost my appetite for more. Maybe it’s exhaustion, maybe it’s regrets, maybe it’s a textbook case of pyrrhic victory.
I got rid of my tv’s and saved over $100/month. Now I just watch in-depth videos on all manor of topics even pausing the videos and taking notes about concepts I’m unfamilar with.
While driving I used to listen to the radio and change stations. Now I ride in reflective silence while, of course, keeping eyes on the road. A growing number of songs, movies, videos and pop culture no longer resonates with me.
Few if any kids still come to my house trick-or-treating and I’ve lost interest in the hoopla of every holiday decoration. It’s not that I’m bitter or depressed. I’ve just re-assessed the time-energy-effort equation and re-calibrated priorities. I’ve become more comfortable jettisoning overboard commitments, obligations, beliefs, ways of thinking and lifestyles that no longer are relevant for me.
My appetite for what used to be important has waned. In its place is critical thinking about actions, words, efforts and relationships. I experience a growing hunger to focus on what is important to both me and others in the current state of affairs and beyond.
The old appetite is gone and time will tell where the new appetite takes me.
An unpublished work/reflection by Greg Dunn November 1, 2025
Dunn Writes Well 