
The Deadly Boredom of ‘A Meaningless Life’ - tomohawk
https://quillette.com/2019/08/07/the-deadly-boredom-of-a-meaningless-life/
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smarri
"Tradition is a set of solutions for which we have forgotten the problems.
Throw away the solution and you get the problem back"

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. In many ways tradition is
disappearing, at least where I'm from, and I can't yet tell if it is for
better or worse.

~~~
lm28469
It's easy to destroy things buts very hard to come up with something to
replace them. Religion is a good example, borders also comes to mind.

Not saying it's all black vs white but some traditions emerged for a reason
and should be fully understood before being destroyed. Again religion is a
good example, life meaning was a solved problem for most believers.

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lykr0n
I've been a dark place recently (dark enough where I forced myself to find a
doctor)- and one thing that came to me is "Why am I still here? What is worth
living for?"

And the only reason I could come up is that there are a few people who would
miss me. Nothing in my life really provides meaning. My job provides meaning
to the world, but me.

Life has become Meaningless, and there are groups out there that provide a
sense of community and meaning. How do you fix that- when communities are
becoming more exclusionary.

~~~
gbuk2013
Life does not ask “why?”, it only asks “how?”. Just enjoy being alive! :)

Looking too hard for meaning, even if you zoom out a little to the context of
our solar system is a sure way of getting depressed.

The meaning of life is to experience life, in all that it has to offer.

If you have made your arrangements well, then your job is a part of that.
Otherwise, at the very least, it is what you need to do to survive at whatever
level of comfort you need - don’t knock it, it’s not a small thing!

From experience, this “dark place” is entirely self-manufactured by your own
mind that is not taking instructions from you. Working to address that is he
way out.

~~~
hestipod
>From experience, this “dark place” is entirely >self-manufactured by your own
mind that is not taking >instructions from you. Working to address that is the
>way out.

This is a frustrating belief I have come up against time after time from
people who cannot seem to understand that their experience isn't everyone's.
Most people I know who live in the dark place have plenty of valid external
reasons. I know I do. While my mental state can be influenced by attitude to
one degree or another, the root cause are entirely NOT self-manufactured. This
is a real problem seeking any sort of care for it since people believe as you
have stated either from their own experience of "getting better" from nothing
but an attitude or primary situational depression etc, or because others have
told them so. It's a universal complaint from those I know who have real
issues.

~~~
gbuk2013
> This is a frustrating belief

It is not a belief. It is a realisation that came from 15 years of inner work,
for which I literally travelled the world.

But if you want to play the victim and wallow is self pity that is your right
- it is your life to live as you please. For me, I was done with that shit a
long time ago and chose to do something about it.

That said, I would never claim that it is an easy thing to do. I also realise
that some people’s physical circumstances may make this more difficult still -
I am very grateful that I have been spared these extra difficulties.

> the root cause are entirely NOT self-manufactured

Unless there is a way someone can beam thoughts into your head, or inject
chemicals into you, or mess with electrical circuitry in your brain, what you
think and feel is entirely self manufactured within your own body. It is
simply your own inability to control your compulsive responses to external
stimuli that is causing the problem for you.

------
croh
Life never has a meaning. Whatever you do, will be washed away with death. As
death is inevitable, you don't have to worry about it. Until it comes, try to
enjoy things. Practical way to do this is - stop thinking. if-else won't work.
get some physical activity or some creative work. chck book - wisdom in
insecurity by alan watts. initial pages may not sound good, but after that it
is gem. once you start enjoying each moment without worry (even worry of
meaning) of future and past, death is also just another moment.

For boredom, stop using cellphone, facebook, HN and everything for few days.
And invest in building, creating or watever work you like, with focus. If you
don't like anything, just start with something, after few days you will see
difference. key here is patience.

Above both statements seem contradictory. But that is how life works. Get away
from instant pleasures. Devote to process without thinking about fruits. See
nature. Gist is start doing something, stop worrying outcome and focus on
finishing it but don't get obsessed with fruits. This is also meaningless but
it will give some involvement in life and take a away from thoughts.

Remember always, life is all about journey not destination. Make your ride
enjoyable. Either you enjoy or not, destination is fixed. Your ride is your
responsibility, not others. If you keep thinking, you will miss beautiful
scenery of life.

if you're spiritual person, look into indian advaita philosophy and stoicism.

[http://theory.stanford.edu/~sbansal/geeta_saar/geeta_saar.ht...](http://theory.stanford.edu/~sbansal/geeta_saar/geeta_saar.html)

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8MeqJxs4iM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8MeqJxs4iM)

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramana_Maharshi#Self-
enquiry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramana_Maharshi#Self-enquiry)

------
viburnum
American society, led by its rich, capitalist elites, divides people into
winners and losers, from the time children are born through their whole lives.
People are buried in a system of hierarchy and dominance. If you want people
to feel like they belong you have to put an end to that system. There can be
no more winners. Get rid of the private schools, the prom kings, machine guns,
homelessness, “good” neighborhoods, private planes, the whole damn system.
Build compassion and equality and accountability into everything. Deprive the
winners of the satisfaction of dominating the losers.

~~~
asguy
Hierarchy and dominance are built into our DNA. If you believe in evolution,
then you might believe that we have evolved this way.

Winners choose the outcome because they have won. There’s nothing American
about this.

What you’re asking for is: you won using methodology A, so now provide an
environment so that methodology B might thrive.

This doesn’t change the fact that methodology A is the route that got us here.

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amriksohata
I found reading the bhagvad Gita gave me a lot of direction when I get into
that state

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strikelaserclaw
Can we really look at the past for direction? It was more or less full of
conflict. We need modern solutions to modern problems (or not so modern
problems), not regress towards old points of view.

~~~
tomohawk
Progress is getting closer to achieving a goal. Just because something is
newer or 'modern' does not mean that it is progress. Look at the regress of
the 20th century with the modern regimes that were going to usher in utopia.

Progress may also mean avoiding dead ends. If you goal is to get to the moon,
climbing the nearest tree is not progress. It's regress.

So, no, we don't need modern solutions. We need effective solutions. If the
solution happens to be modern, that is besides the point.

