Everyone has them!
(Anyone on my Facebook knows about my penchant for the show Hoarders!)
Guilty pleasures can be described as doing or liking things that are often frowned upon by society or intellectual communities. Mindless, aimless stuff that gives us great pleasure but we hide it because it's often considered trite or irrelevant.
Guilty pleasures can be anything : computer games, websites, reading up on certain subjects, spas, tabloid news, soap operas, shoes, daydreaming every day - and so many more!
My guilty pleasures (aside from Hoarders, a show that makes me compulsively clean while watching it and that drives me nuts but I keep watching anyway) are reading about pop culture, pedicures, I'm a certified travel nut (even researching places I'll probably never afford to get to!), a real estate junkie (for homes all over the world that I'll never live in!) and love 80s music. And I'll take a day dream anytime!
Guilty pleasures are good for us, as long as they don't interfere with life. They enable us to relax, to dream, to wish. And if we don't have a dream, how can we have those dreams come true? Wishful and wistful dreams and passions can lead to real-life successes. We dreamers don't really have our heads in the clouds - we just stretch really far from the ground!
So what if soap operas are silly - if people enjoy them, let them. We don't always have to spend our free time reading Proust!
Does an afternoon watching reality shows really take a point off our IQ? Do we contribute to the downfall of humanity if we have our nails done once a week? Is fantasy a waste of time?
Some say yes, others say definitely not. We get to laugh, have fun, enjoy and let the brain rest a while. The study, the work, the hardships of life, will always be there for us tomorrow. So will our dreams.
Tell Us
What are your guilty pleasures? Do you feel guilty for having them or are you loud and proud about your subscription to People Magazine and weekly TiVo of the Real Housewives? Do people tell you that you dream too much?