1526 || the problem with tragic optimism

According to Meg-John Barker at rewriting the rules, "My own way of dealing with meaninglessness in life, has also been to embrace it as an inevitable part of life which will happen with some regularity.

There will be times – perhaps quite frequently – when we feel that our projects are pointless in the grand scheme of things, or when the world feels an overwhelming and cold place to live in, or when disconnections and conflicts with others feel unbearable and we feel utterly broken by life.

If we see such times as evidence that we are ‘getting it wrong’ and try desperately to find some meaning quickly, we are – perhaps – likely to spiral even further into hopelessness.

When we have such moments, it can be useful to focus on the very basic mundane activities of life (walking the dog, making our breakfast, having a shower), getting on with it until it has passed. And sometimes we just have to be with the horror of the meaninglessness while it is there without trying to change it, and without being able to do anything whilst it is happening."

The Sources:

A blog post breakdown of "The Case for Tragic Optimism" https://www.rewriting-the-rules.com/self/tragic-optimism/

Lit Charts for "The Case for Tragic Optimism": https://www.litcharts.com/lit/man-s-search-for-meaning/postscript-1984-the-case-for-tragic-optimism

Victor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning" and "The Case for Tragic Optimism" https://antilogicalism.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/mans-search-for-meaning.pdf

Resources for Resisting a Coup: https://makeyourdamnbed.medium.com/practical-guides-to-resisting-a-coup-b44571b9ad66

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