The constant state of Meh

This post is inspired by one of my dearest friend. He literally said, ”I am in a constant state of Meh“.

Let me walk you through how we got there…

It is a typical day and customary to our conversations that starts out being just to check up on each other to becoming a semi- philosophical banter on life and its existential meaning. This time, the context of this conversation was consideration of eternity, adulthood, and love generally.

He preceded this statement by saying “I don´t think any new experience can inspire a new feeling in me that I have not experienced before” and of course, this got me thinking…

Is it possible to exhaust all forms of happiness we can experience?

Typically, optimistic individuals live in the constant pursuit of futuristic happiness. You find it in excerpts that tell you about how you´ve not met all the people you´d love or will get to love you, how you´ve not seen all the places you can explore nor discovered all the things that will make you passionate. While all these words are inspiringly positive, it doesn´t change the fact that for people who have experienced tragedy or keep having to surmount one tragedy after the other, hope is quite a pricey dilemma, one they sometimes cannot afford.

I read somewhere that there is a distinction between a hard life and a bad life. What do you think is the distinguishing element? Perspective or challenges?

The constant state of meh is an utterance used to describe an existence based on stability such that nothing seemingly exciting happens and nothing unpredictable exist because largely there is a marginal form of control. This may seem an absurd reality since we may all agree that life itself is unpredictable and full of surprises or isn´t that what they say?

If we deviate from this assertion, we can in fact, agree that life is constant. Why? living is as constant as death, to live is to grow, to breathe, to think, to make decisions, to be happy, or sad, you name it. This makes it easier to agree then that there are some things very much predictable about living, the experiences that a living soul gathers.

However, it is in the collation of these experiences that life brings unpredictability. It is said that it is not our experiences in themselves that bring meaning but the interpretation we give to them. I agree with this statement to a large extent but again, I am forced to ask is it possible that some experiences have just one interpretation no matter how maverick we are?

Simply defined, the constant state of meh is the most rudimentary form of human existence, it is where we all bear similarities, our shared experiences of routine and the passage of time that brings these experiences to a halt.

The next question then is, what makes another person´s life enjoyable than the other? is it even objective to place a metric on the qualitative meaning of existence?

I proceeded to ask my friend if there was anything enjoyable about this constant state of meh His response was “if I am being honest, it’s the predictability”. This response baffled me because it was the very nature of this predictability that resulted in the rut came to be known as the constant state of meh, this predictability is the only rationale for the modicum of control we are able to exercise at some point in our decision making process. It is this very act of predictability that crafts legitimacy for our pursuit of extraordinary things.

it is quite possible that this constant state of meh is why some seek tectonic experiences or become disruptors.

So far we’ve been able to establish key facts: that the constant state of meh is inevitable, it is at the rudimentary state of our collective experiences. Additionally, that it is often a catalyst for disruption.

Then my friend asked a question: “If joy is all we have, what is the value of joy?”

Fundamental to the idea behind this question is the need for disruption, ups and downs because we expect that the only value a thing can acquire is in the understanding of the alternative. For example wealth as opposed to poverty. If so, then, it means we appreciate joy because we have also embodied sadness at some point.

Consider this, what if all the reality we know is joy and all we can measure joy with is joy? Does that improve the value of joy or does that diminish its intrinsic worth since there is no availability of sadness to make it profound?

The answers to these questions are what help the navigation of this constant state of meh…

Do you desire experiences so painful that they help you reach depth? do you solicit failure so you can better appreciate success, or are these diametric opposites mutually dependent on the other?

The question then is, if the collective experience is rut, how do we give life meaning to experience a sublime existential occurrence?

You can start by becoming… being intentional about your experiences and cataloging the same. What does this mean you ask? simple, focus on the things you can control, seek to change the things you can, choose your experiences wisely e.g., the depth of your friendship, the joy of your hobbies, the knowledge you accumulate and apply, the value of your vulnerability and the intensity of your passion.

More importantly, seek ikigai and strive to fashion the best interpretation of your experiences.

Xoxo,

Dcconnoisseur