I’m being dragged by the ankles into the unknown by a brooding giant named Expectation. And even our loftiest thoughts can be consumed by laziness.
As I clean my kitchen and listen to the Phantom Tollbooth on audio book I am reminded by the reader’s droll voice of the Doldrums. The Doldrums is a land full of napping and quiet ascete. No one is allowed to think, make loud noises or feel happiness in the Doldrums. Thoughts swirl in my head of what my Doldrums would look like. Cozy caution in a world that never changes. Predictable grey landscape. A steady, reliable job perhaps? Certainly no more writing. I must tell you that for a moment it all sounds so nice. Imagine: to know where I would be on every single Monday morning for the rest of my life. But, I also wonder. How long would I be able to stand it?
Arthur Schopenhauer, a philosopher with a focus on the concept of free will, believed that, “human desire was futile, illogical, directionless, and, by extension, so was all human action in the world.”
As I clean my kitchen and listen to the Phantom Tollbooth on audio book I am reminded by the reader’s droll voice of the Doldrums. The Doldrums is a land full of napping and quiet ascete. No one is allowed to think, make loud noises or feel happiness in the Doldrums. Thoughts swirl in my head of what my Doldrums would look like. Cozy caution in a world that never changes. Predictable grey landscape. A steady, reliable job perhaps? Certainly no more writing. I must tell you that for a moment it all sounds so nice. Imagine: to know where I would be on every single Monday morning for the rest of my life. But, I also wonder. How long would I be able to stand it?
Arthur Schopenhauer, a philosopher with a focus on the concept of free will, believed that, “human desire was futile, illogical, directionless, and, by extension, so was all human action in the world.”
Basically Schopenhauer is the guy at the bar that has had so many drinks he’s decided that nothing matters anymore. Don’t lie, you’ve all been there. But, for Schopenhauer there is one saving grace.
Art.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen this sullen man from Frankfurt with excellent hair believes in the power of art!
He states,
“Aesthetic contemplation allows one to escape, albeit temporarily, this pain because it stops one perceiving the world as mere presentation. Instead one no longer perceives the world as an object of perception from which one is separated; rather one becomes one with that perception”
Great. Now we have a reason to put ourselves through the suffering that is art so that we can temporarily end the suffering that is life. Is anyone crying into their pillow yet? But, it at least feels good to have a reason right? No. Actually. Not really. Schopenhauer is settling.
“Aesthetic contemplation allows one to escape, albeit temporarily, this pain because it stops one perceiving the world as mere presentation. Instead one no longer perceives the world as an object of perception from which one is separated; rather one becomes one with that perception”
Great. Now we have a reason to put ourselves through the suffering that is art so that we can temporarily end the suffering that is life. Is anyone crying into their pillow yet? But, it at least feels good to have a reason right? No. Actually. Not really. Schopenhauer is settling.
Do we do art because we have to? Or is it because we want to? Maybe we have to have to want to.
What is my purpose in this nonsensically sensible world? Society has standards for how long it is acceptable to work in a crepe shack underneath the convention center. My task is to find a career. Which seems impossible. And while I want to lounge in the cushy comfort of a career at the creperie my animalistic senses rebel. It’s time for some adventures. I need more stories. Uncertainty makes us free. Can that freedom even exist in a world of schedules? And what is this idea of freedom anyway? I find that when have have too much freedom I end up watching Bridezillas until 2 in the morning and eating cheez-its for dinner. What happens when there are no more schedules? When the only person I have to depend on is myself? I need someone else to depend on, you know someone more...dependable. Can I depend on you? I’ll let you depend on me. We can be accountable for each other. Just try not to fuck it up okay? I don’t know whether or not there is free will, but if there is I definitely don’t want it to do a number on this life.
We had better keep our bases covered.
What is my purpose in this nonsensically sensible world? Society has standards for how long it is acceptable to work in a crepe shack underneath the convention center. My task is to find a career. Which seems impossible. And while I want to lounge in the cushy comfort of a career at the creperie my animalistic senses rebel. It’s time for some adventures. I need more stories. Uncertainty makes us free. Can that freedom even exist in a world of schedules? And what is this idea of freedom anyway? I find that when have have too much freedom I end up watching Bridezillas until 2 in the morning and eating cheez-its for dinner. What happens when there are no more schedules? When the only person I have to depend on is myself? I need someone else to depend on, you know someone more...dependable. Can I depend on you? I’ll let you depend on me. We can be accountable for each other. Just try not to fuck it up okay? I don’t know whether or not there is free will, but if there is I definitely don’t want it to do a number on this life.
We had better keep our bases covered.
