Unbeliever

[degringolade]

Impressionism / Medi Wechsler Dinu/ Balchik Coast

 

This one is kind of a riff off of the comments over at JMG’s weekly pot-stirring.  The whole thing started with me putting in a nostalgic comment about John Denver.  Should you wish to review the origin comment, you can find it at Comment #126.  Casting the woolgathering aside, the nut of the comment was:

John: We will follow the path you have outlined and that the Club of Rome argued for fifty years ago. Doesn’t mean that we have to like it, or it will be fun. But follow it we will.

Oddly enough, I’m kinda looking forward to it.

I realize that I am an outlier.  I am truly bored by what is going on in the world.  It strikes me as a constant effort to remove all uncertainty and create a world that is without any meaningful stimulus.  

I suppose at the end of the day, that is what my parent’s generation was striving for.  They had just had plenty of stimulation (Depression and Second World War) and were looking for a break.  So they created a safe harbor shielded by two oceans and fed by an empire's wealth pump.  It was exactly what was planned.  Safe, wealthy, and well-fed.  

Now, some of you might say that our poor are in terrible shape.  Just ain’t so.  Ask a poor person anywhere else in the world if they would like to swap places with our poor and judge for yourself the answers you will get.

But this kinda shit just can’t last.  We are safe but not sane.  We are satisfied but not fulfilled.  We are a bored culture.  

The comment that came back was this:

@JMG, Degingolade: You wrote… “Degringolade, I’m also looking forward to it. A friend of mine mentioned that she’s feeling as though life is becoming an adventure again — and there’s a point to that feeling.”

 What I am trying to say (and not doing it very well) is that in our quest for the material and our concurrent quests for safety and comfort above all has left a lot of us dry.  Might work for some folks, but there are a lot out there who would like just a touch of uncertainty to keep us on our toes.  

What we are ensconced in right now is a culture of certain expectations.  We have established that X,Y, and Z are the marks of success and the meaning of life.  There are more and more of us out here in the wastelands that really see nothing but a slow and unsatisfying march toward a grave of never-enough.  A lot of us want off that bandwagon.

I think that it comes down to what constitutes the definition of a good life.  The life that is being held up as exemplar by the current weltanschauung here in the good old USA has lost its savor for a lot of us.  I don’t know if I will be able to find a “better way” but at least giving it a try will let me feel alive.  

Comments

Adventure / Good Life

[sothismedias]

Thanks Degrinoglade for writing a bit about this feeling!
I suppose I may do that some as well. (I was thinking about that yesterday, when I asked JMG if he would consider a post on the topic.)

I find your comments spot on. The good life promised to us by the media, etc. has turned out to be not so good. Work is not so meaningful for many, and the adventure at work is gone for many too. The only rewards from the main culture are vacations at crowded tourist spots where you go o spend money, and maybe see some nice nature, but mostly spend money. Or the brain numbing effects of endless streaming services and binge watching.

There is so much more we can do. Shifting from consumer to producer is one adventure. And there are many others... that will produce satisfaction and more.

Here is to hopping off the bandwagon.

I'll put in a reply here or on ecosophia if I write a little post on this subject.

I hope, despite all going on, you have a nice fall season ahead.

YOU GO

[mschmidt]

Good attitude in my opinion. Full speed ahead and good luck. Just do not proceed on mankind’s current path and try to conquer something, especially not something to do with Nature.