Rambling on Escapism

Escapism is something I have long lingered on and within. The mindset manifests in many forms and does serve some purposes. It is a coping mechanism, an indulgence, but ultimately a slippery a slope. Overmuch it can be a ruinous habit yet without it life may easily lose its luster.
As of late I have taken escapism on as a sort of enemy that ought to be combatted—that staying “grounded” is the greater state of being. While certainly one must never totally lose touch with reality, one should not allow reality to crush them either.
I find it ill-fitting to ascribe any one act or medium as wholly escapist. The determining factor of escapism is intention. If the aim is to escape (either from something specific or one’s life at large) then that is as far as the engagement will go and is often accompanied by an underlying anxiety or dread of the enchantment eventually ending. If meaningful engagement is the goal, one is looking to get something specific out of the experience, an element of escapism might accompany that engagement without those harsh side effects of the more concentrated dose. I will provide here a few meager attempts at real-world examples to bring this idea out of the abstract.
Suppose you have a large lawn to mow that might easily occupy a good five hours. Such an act would make a sufficient vehicle to escape the woes of your life for a while, but to take on the task with such a frame of mind is ultimately in vain. Knowing when and how the escape will end gnaws from the onset and mounts as the time comes ever closer. This steals the joy you might find in the task under the alternate pretense of meaningful engagement.
Another example, less tangible, can be seen in reading fantasy novels. JRR Tolkien is well known to be criticized for contributing to the escapist mindset with his stories and indeed his works can serve in that shallow capacity, but the deeper value discovered through meaningful engagement with his prose cannot be denied. There is much and more to take away in the motifs, themes, and influences in his Lord of the Rings alone if one’s intention is to engage with them.
Even video games or television are not wholly escapist. For many, video games are a means of staying connected with distant friends or finding community. Couples can enjoy the cooperative element of these games and reap enrichment from working together to solve problems. Film and television offer opportunities for discussions on similar elements aforementioned regarding Tolkien’s work as well as provide a unique mode of storytelling that is largely more approachable in this day and age.
Clearly, escapism and meaningful engagement are not mutually exclusive. Rather, healthy escapism is a biproduct of meaningful engagement. Embracing escapism for its own sake is the first step down that slippery slope. Ethical escapism is brought about by the intention to do something meaningful. Reframing the escape itself as the side effect and meaningful engagement as the intention clears the dread, the shame, the guilt and makes the escape itself invisible but retains its benefit to well-being.
“Meaningful engagement” is obviously and intentionally vague to serve in a “fill-in-the-blank” sort of fashion. If one’s intention of engagement is simply enjoyment or fulfillment then so be it; such a cause is noble enough. What I address here is the explicit intention to retreat—to leave the world behind for a time and forsake one’s own presence in pursuit of a peace that does not last and eventually abandons altogether. Escapism is deceptive and a cunning manipulator and no worthy master whatsoever. As a servant however, may offer needed refuge when unlooked for.