The monotony of life

[CahCaw]

The inevitable monotonous bits will be easy to endure when you feel you have meaning and purpose in life.

100% agree

I suppose that is which I despise about 'the ways things are set up': Life itself does not appear set up to give either to people. There are no systems in place to give us meaning & purpose, instead there are only systems which take consume and silence

 

[Rikstah]

100% agree

I suppose that is which I despise about 'the ways things are set up': Life itself does not appear set up to give either to people. There are no systems in place to give us meaning & purpose, instead there are only systems which take consume and silence

That is true. The systems out there only want to benefit from you and your patterns of behaviour.

We gotta take care of ourselves man no one else is going to.

 

[CahCaw]

That is true. The systems out there only want to benefit from you and your patterns of behaviour.

We gotta take care of ourselves man no one else is going to.

Very true, and it is even sadder of a sight that we still infight so so much. The least we can do in an unforgiving world, is to be there for one another. But, even that, is often times a lot to ask for. Suffice to say, imo that is more so because we as humanity are suffering from a mass psychosis, instead of being inherently evil.

 

[WKYK]

I've felt the same way for a while now, lots of great discussion on this thread. Something that's helped me is exploration; even if it is still within the confines of our industrialized world, I've found a lot of joy finding cool new restaurants, video game stores, and record shops. Maybe that's something you've already tried, but I always seem to find a cool new ps2 game or record when I go on these adventures.

And to be clear, I know media consumption ad nauseam is horrible, I think the nature walks you were talking about are great, but that's not to say there aren't some great games and stuff out there that you wouldn't really enjoy too.

 

[Rikstah]

I've felt the same way for a while now, lots of great discussion on this thread. Something that's helped me is exploration; even if it is still within the confines of our industrialized world, I've found a lot of joy finding cool new restaurants, video game stores, and record shops. Maybe that's something you've already tried, but I always seem to find a cool new ps2 game or record when I go on these adventures.

And to be clear, I know media consumption ad nauseam is horrible, I think the nature walks you were talking about are great, but that's not to say there aren't some great games and stuff out there that you wouldn't really enjoy too.

Nothing wrong with finding joy in the little things, sometimes thats all there really is beyond pursuing some meaning that is worth completely sacrificing yourself for.

 

[Regal]

Good thread. I spent the first ~25 years of my life pretty depressed. The cycle of coming home from school/work and then sitting on the computer/TV indefinitely really hurt me. And, even more problematic, my family as a whole was also trapped in that cycle. It was a huge problem for my family interpersonally. Not sure how my parents thought this was healthy.

Now in my 30's I'm happier than ever. Sure, life is sometimes monotonous. But that is often downtime and recovery from the more fulfilling yet exhausting parts of my life. Career, relationships, hobbies, traveling, environment, and more are going really well for me. Not trying to humblebrag. Only trying to say that there is hope of escaping these cycles.

 

[Rikstah]

Good thread. I spent the first ~25 years of my life pretty depressed. The cycle of coming home from school/work and then sitting on the computer/TV indefinitely really hurt me. And, even more problematic, my family as a whole was also trapped in that cycle. It was a huge problem for my family interpersonally. Not sure how my parents thought this was healthy.

Now in my 30's I'm happier than ever. Sure, life is sometimes monotonous. But that is often downtime and recovery from the more fulfilling yet exhausting parts of my life. Career, relationships, hobbies, traveling, environment, and more are going really well for me. Not trying to humblebrag. Only trying to say that there is hope of escaping these cycles.

Vibing with this. I'd say the first 19 years were like that for me.

The world (and my mind) opened up when I started doing martial arts. I don't want to sound cheesy but that was 'the way' which could be applied to all things and no joke everything in my life improved.

Not that there weren't serious ups and downs over the last 10+ years like failed relationships and career struggles, but it all felt part of a life worth living.

 

[CahCaw]

Good thread. I spent the first ~25 years of my life pretty depressed. The cycle of coming home from school/work and then sitting on the computer/TV indefinitely really hurt me. And, even more problematic, my family as a whole was also trapped in that cycle. It was a huge problem for my family interpersonally. Not sure how my parents thought this was healthy.

Now in my 30's I'm happier than ever. Sure, life is sometimes monotonous. But that is often downtime and recovery from the more fulfilling yet exhausting parts of my life. Career, relationships, hobbies, traveling, environment, and more are going really well for me. Not trying to humblebrag. Only trying to say that there is hope of escaping these cycles.

How do you spend your time then these days?

 

[InsufferableCynic]

"Wake up, work, watch TV, bed" is a vastly superior life to "wake up, get chased out of house by violent extremists, sleep in a ditch, hope to find food tomorrow" life. A boring western existence is quite high on the list of pleasurable life outcomes, all things considering.

That said, it's quite easy to escape the grind. Life is absolutely what you make of it and people who work a standard 9-5 are not realising their true potential. Anyone, even the dumbest, most socially awkward person, can work for themselves with some effort. Choosing your own hours and your own work are absolutely positive things to do and will make your life significantly better.

 

[Regal]

How do you spend your time then these days?

Aside from my day job, I spend time traveling (sometimes short weekend trips, sometimes multi-week trips), working on aquariums, tending my bonsai, blogging, studying for my next tech certification, participating in my solarpunk club, participating in my death cafe, tinkering in Azure, practicing archery, and currently trying to spin up a couple different businesses.

 

[CahCaw]

Aside from my day job, I spend time traveling (sometimes short weekend trips, sometimes multi-week trips), working on aquariums, tending my bonsai, blogging, studying for my next tech certification, participating in my solarpunk club, participating in my death cafe, tinkering in Azure, practicing archery, and currently trying to spin up a couple different businesses.

damnn, love the diversity of it

 

[Rikstah]

"Wake up, work, watch TV, bed" is a vastly superior life to "wake up, get chased out of house by violent extremists, sleep in a ditch, hope to find food tomorrow" life. A boring western existence is quite high on the list of pleasurable life outcomes, all things considering.

That said, it's quite easy to escape the grind. Life is absolutely what you make of it and people who work a standard 9-5 are not realising their true potential. Anyone, even the dumbest, most socially awkward person, can work for themselves with some effort. Choosing your own hours and your own work are absolutely positive things to do and will make your life significantly better.

Objectively you are 100% correct. It's almost an unbelievable outcome to live in a society that is so well run and civilized that our biggest anxiety is the monotony of life.

The default state of humanity is oppression and brutality, civilized nations are a miracle.

That being said, unfortunately the human mind was evolved (or built) for struggle. We need some way to engage that part of our nature thats why we need hobbies or pursuits that are not only difficult in the journey but meaningful in the outcomes.

Martial arts is one such hobby, I'm not exaggerating when I say it can completely change a person's trajectory in life.

 

[PizzaW0lf]

I personally want to get into some BMX

 

[CahCaw]

I personally want to get into some BMX

Oh mann I recently found this track (next to the triborder point of Netherlands, Germany & Belgium, don't go without a helmet lol) that really invigorated me to a level I haven't felt in a while. Usually I have a hard time feeling stimulated, but that was something else. I remember trying to go to sleep that night but my mind still going UP DOWN LEFT RIGHT UP DOWN, it was beauitful. Really recommend this, and especially a track.

10/10 would break my bike again, get pieces of mud flung into my eye & have one side of me completely covered in mud because I got flown forward.

You can find tracks using the "Kamoot" app maybe.

 

[PizzaW0lf]

This video might be a good one to consider. I'm too lazy to write it out RN LOL


View: https://youtu.be/zkRlt45WSQ8

 

[Rikstah]

This video might be a good one to consider. I'm too lazy to write it out RN LOL


View: https://youtu.be/zkRlt45WSQ8

Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed that.

My only problem is that I frequently work alot more than 8 solid hours which gets in the way of other healthier routines such as going running / exercising and cooking healthy home dinners.

But can't give up on the struggle, got to be as healthy as possible where possible.

 

[Jade]

Objectively you are 100% correct. It's almost an unbelievable outcome to live in a society that is so well run and civilized that our biggest anxiety is the monotony of life.

The default state of humanity is oppression and brutality, civilized nations are a miracle.

That being said, unfortunately the human mind was evolved (or built) for struggle. We need some way to engage that part of our nature thats why we need hobbies or pursuits that are not only difficult in the journey but meaningful in the outcomes.

Martial arts is one such hobby, I'm not exaggerating when I say it can completely change a person's trajectory in life.

I beg to differ. The happiness of these 'civilized nations' is the happiness of cattle, who are always satisfied and compliant so long as they have fresh straw to sleep on and copious amounts of slop to consume. What matter to them if they are constantly exploited by the farmer for their flesh and milk? What matter if they have lost their freedom and the knowledge of how to live in the wild? If their children are taken from them and slaughtered, or dysgenically bred to make them weaker and easier to control? It is an easy life. A life of certainty and constant comfort, where everything is decided for you. This is what makes it so monotonous.

 

[InsufferableCynic]

I beg to differ. The happiness of these 'civilized nations' is the happiness of cattle, who are always satisfied and compliant so long as they have fresh straw to sleep on and copious amounts of slop to consume. What matter to them if they are constantly exploited by the farmer for their flesh and milk? What matter if they have lost their freedom and the knowledge of how to live in the wild? If their children are taken from them and slaughtered, or dysgenically bred to make them weaker and easier to control? It is an easy life. A life of certainty and constant comfort, where everything is decided for you. This is what makes it so monotonous.

This is an awful take.

Even if everything you were saying is true, why does it matter? Domestic pets still love longer, healthier and more satisfying lives than their wild bretheren.

If we really are "coralled cattle", I don't really care. Life is pretty good all things considering. I would rather be enslaved and have most of what I want than live in a warzone with nothing.

 

[Jade]

This is an awful take.

Even if everything you were saying is true, why does it matter? Domestic pets still love longer, healthier and more satisfying lives than their wild bretheren.

If we really are "coralled cattle", I don't really care. Life is pretty good all things considering. I would rather be enslaved and have most of what I want than live in a warzone with nothing.

Maybe you're fine with holding creature comforts as the most anyone could ever hope for. I'm not. I believe that life has more to offer than than being coddled and cared for in exchange for being willingly exploited. I would MUCH rather live in a warzone with nothing, and be free, than be enslaved and indulge in meaningless pleasures. The pleasures that come from taking control of your own destiny are infinitely higher than anything the infantilized farm animal could ever hope for.

 

[CahCaw]

This video might be a good one to consider. I'm too lazy to write it out RN LOL


View: https://youtu.be/zkRlt45WSQ8

As a preface - I'm not saying this man should change his life style. With having kids it's more complicated anyways. It's just that something about living a life where every day is the same terrifies me.

What I don't like though, is how this video is implying:
Interesting = drama
Boring = no drama
-> thus focus all your energy on stability.

.... and I beg to differ. Interesting things can happen that are without drama. You don't have to wait until you have a vacation 'to go out there'.

Or at least, that's what I'm trying.

It feels like I'm asking a lot for life to not bore me.