The cycle of Survival, boredom &escapism

[Someone here]

Some of Schopenhauer's best insights were his ideas about the centrality of boredom. Boredom sits at the heart of the human condition.

If we were in a survival situation, that is all we would be consumed with...the means to putting food in our mouth, getting hydrated, and finding comfortable shelter from the elements.

In an industrialized, complex network of production and consumption, this is all atomized into our little "work"  pursuits. On the other side of the spectrum, waiting for us is boredom. Boredom lays bare that existence isn't anything BUT striving-after. We strive to survive and be comfortable. Then, if we do not have any entertainment pursuits to occupy our mental space, we may get existential. "Why are we doing this repetitive upkeep, maintenance, and thrashing about?" It becomes apparent about  uselessness of existence.

 Then we start looking for an ounce of pleasure.. we all try to submerge in these entertainments to not face the existential boredom straight on. That would be too much to dwell in for too long. We design goals, and virtues and reasons, and entertainments, and standards to meet, and trying to contribute to "something". We cannot fall back on the default of existence.. the boredom.

So what is one to do? If suicide isn't a real option, there is only the perpetual cycle. The illusion is that it can be broken. Schopenhauer deigned freedom by asceticism. but it's simply training the mind to live with the existential striving-after more easily. That is all .a mental technique. It is not a metaphysical escape hatch. 

Edited July 8, 2022 by Someone here

[Mason Riggle]

3 minutes ago, Someone here said:

So what is one to do? 

Just be.. it's the only thing you're ever doing anyhow, and you're not even 'doing' that.. you can't stop.   

 

[puporing]

There's more beyond survival. You can be so in awe with the mystical nature of reality that just zooming in on anything around you gives you deep joy and happiness. Getting in touch with Truth, Love, Beauty, spirit. That fills you each and every moment. Feel more deeply. Even all the feelings of sadness and "nothingness" of it all too is beautiful. 

On a more relative level, you can align your purpose (and means of survival) more and more with universal purpose to bring more consciousness and light to this world. There's deep, deep satisfaction found there. 

[Someone here]

1 minute ago, Mason Riggle said:

Just be.. it's the only thing you're ever doing anyhow, and you're not even 'doing' that.. you can't stop.   

 

That's a pipe dream. In our modern world today, everyone is caught up in wage slavery and their dreams and ambitions and even their meditative peace is crushed under the stress of being a member of society in this era.

And it's not nesscaily bad. We have learned important life lessons when we give ourselves over to hard work: determination, attentiveness, responsibility, problem-solving, and self-control all come to mind. These lessons, in turn, serve us in other areas (health, relationships, hobbies, etc.)

[Mason Riggle]

Just now, Someone here said:

 In our modern world today, everyone is caught up in wage slavery and their dreams and ambitions and even their meditative peace is crushed under the stress of being a member of society in this era.

That's just how things are being. 

I'm not talking about 'doing nothing' (which isn't a thing).. I'm talking about the recognition that I'm already doing the only thing I can, which is 'being myself'.. something that takes 0 effort to do, and also something I can't stop doing.   It's literally the only thing I do. 

[Someone here]

2 minutes ago, puporing said:

There's more beyond survival. You can be so in awe with the mystical nature of reality that just zooming in on anything around you gives you deep joy and happiness. Getting in touch with Truth, Love, Beauty, spirit. That fills you each and every moment. Feel more deeply. Even all the feelings of sadness and "nothingness" of it all too is beautiful. 

On a more relative level, you can align your purpose (and means of survival) more and more with universal purpose to bring more consciousness and light to this world. There's deep, deep satisfaction found there. 

It’s much about modern life's stress , as life in a society. Unless you start with advantage, you will be some sort of wage slave. Standards of living are higher than they once were (in certain regions) but many people feel like their life isn’t their own, and they are correct. The system that is in place now is putrid and it is unsurprising that many people despise it, and therefore despise their existences.

The work situation has been getting steadily more awful for a long time and that is where most of us have to spend most of our existences. It's either pain in the ass or boredom or distracting ourselves with mediocrity. 

[gettoefl]

the boredom excitement duality needs collapsing, if you're not excited to leap out of bed in the morning you are doing it wrong

there is a whole universe that awaits inspection, all you do as god is receiveand enjoy, all the hard word setting the thing up is done

[puporing]

15 minutes ago, Someone here said:

It’s much about modern life's stress , as life in a society. Unless you start with advantage, you will be some sort of wage slave. Standards of living are higher than they once were (in certain regions) but many people feel like their life isn’t their own, and they are correct. The system that is in place now is putrid and it is unsurprising that many people despise it, and therefore despise their existences.

The work situation has been getting steadily more awful for a long time and that is where most of us have to spend most of our existences. It's either pain in the ass or boredom or distracting ourselves with mediocrity. 

Yeah I totally get it. The survival stuff needs to be handled as optimally as possible so you have the space to go deep with spirituality. That's another reason I'm for UBI too. But meanwhile we don't have this. To get out of the rat race creativity, taking some risks, and working extra than what most are doing is required. 

[gettoefl]

18 hours ago, gettoefl said:

the boredom excitement duality needs collapsing, if you're not excited to leap out of bed in the morning you are doing it wrong

there is a whole universe that awaits inspection, all you do as god is receiveand enjoy, all the hard word setting the thing up is done

nice word or two ...

[Michael Jackson]

19 hours ago, Someone here said:

That's a pipe dream. In our modern world today, everyone is caught up in wage slavery and their dreams and ambitions and even their meditative peace is crushed under the stress of being a member of society in this era.

Yeah fair point.

19 hours ago, Someone here said:

And it's not nesscaily bad

It's only bad if it makes us feel that way. Most people are suffering, unfortunataly...

[Michael Jackson]

19 hours ago, Someone here said:

It’s much about modern life's stress , as life in a society. Unless you start with advantage, you will be some sort of wage slave. Standards of living are higher than they once were (in certain regions) but many people feel like their life isn’t their own, and they are correct. The system that is in place now is putrid and it is unsurprising that many people despise it, and therefore despise their existences.

The work situation has been getting steadily more awful for a long time and that is where most of us have to spend most of our existences. It's either pain in the ass or boredom or distracting ourselves with mediocrity. 

Fully agree.. the world is richer than it ever was but we fail to fairly share that richness with everyone... Yesterday I saw a guy sleeping on the street... The only thing he had was a coke and the dirty floor he slept on. I live in one of the richest countries of the world, yet we are so poor. I cried that evening.

[Breakingthewall]

It seems that human nature has a very powerful side that tends to deep dysfunction, suffering, war, both internally and externally. society is only a reflection of the human interior. even so, there is a positive trend. at least at the entrances to the cities there are no rows of impaled people as a warning. Even so, the human being is cursed, expelled from Eden. that is our destiny. For me, the only possible path is total transcendence. the ultimate goal of being a human is that. or so it seems to me. the human being is an enigma in itself, a labyrinth that only has one solution: stop being human