Each edition of Distraction Therapy opens a space—quiet, reflective, unhurried. It’s not an escape, but a reorientation. A chance to listen in a different way. This latest mix, like those before it, offers a moment to turn our attention inward—not in retreat, but with care.

It seemed fitting, while listening back, to think again about Aristotle. Not the grand philosopher as often imagined, but the ethical guide who asked what kind of people we might become through habit, intention, and practice. His idea of virtue doesn’t start with rules or laws. It starts with the simple but difficult work of forming character through repeated actions. He called the outcome of this effort eudaimonia—a state not of pleasure or contentment, but of human flourishing rooted in thoughtful, relational living.

What does this mean now, in a culture shaped by online visibility and performance? Every day, people navigate platforms where identity is curated and projected, often with the hope of influencing others. Our online lives are full of signals—likes, shares, follows—but these signals don’t necessarily help us ask how we are being shaped in the process.

The question Aristotle might pose is not what do we believe, or how do we appear, but who are we becoming? When we speak online, are we cultivating patience or defensiveness? When we post, are we acting out of considered judgement or out of impulse? Are we shaping our digital presence around values we live by, or around what gains attention?

Social media tends to reward speed, certainty, and performance. But Aristotle’s model of ethical living values moderation, reflection, and the gradual development of character. These are not easy values to maintain in online settings that often favour reaction over reflection. Yet they are still possible to hold onto—if we find or create spaces where attention and care are encouraged.

One of the aims of Radio Lear, and of Distraction Therapy in particular, is to hold open such a space. Not to offer answers, but to create conditions in which more thoughtful questions can emerge. Listening becomes a way to reconnect with what we are practising—what we are rehearsing with each interaction, each comment, each moment of silence.

This mix does not point in any one direction. It sits with the tension between outer expression and inner intention. It invites you to consider what kind of care you are extending to others, and how that care reflects the way you understand your own responsibility to yourself. If we are to hold any meaningful ethical standard in our online lives, it may begin with this quiet sense of accountability—an ongoing attention to how our choices shape not only how we’re perceived, but who we are slowly becoming.

You can listen to the latest mix now and let it accompany you through that reflection. Not as background, not as distraction, but as a soundtrack for asking: am I becoming someone worth listening to—not just in what I say, but in how I live?

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