I hope you're well Joe and curious about the impetus for this post.
Your description of that "hypnotic state" is essentially a biological mercy. If we were constantly, acutely aware of how fragile everything is we’d likely be too paralyzed to even tie our shoes. The brain creates this low-level hum of "normalcy" to drown out the existential roar. It’s a survival filter; it keeps the focus on the coffee in your hand rather than the vast, unpredictable void outside the window.
The irony, of course, is that while the trance keeps us functional, it also makes us sleepwalk. We treat time like an infinite resource until the moment the trance breaks, usually through grief, a near-miss, or a sudden change....and suddenly the world looks terrifyingly vivid.
The fundamental human dilemma succinctly and well put. Id only add that the dilemma is heightened because we form deep attachments from continued emotional engagement only to have them ended swiftly and seemingly irrevocably.
I hope you're well Joe and curious about the impetus for this post.
Your description of that "hypnotic state" is essentially a biological mercy. If we were constantly, acutely aware of how fragile everything is we’d likely be too paralyzed to even tie our shoes. The brain creates this low-level hum of "normalcy" to drown out the existential roar. It’s a survival filter; it keeps the focus on the coffee in your hand rather than the vast, unpredictable void outside the window.
The irony, of course, is that while the trance keeps us functional, it also makes us sleepwalk. We treat time like an infinite resource until the moment the trance breaks, usually through grief, a near-miss, or a sudden change....and suddenly the world looks terrifyingly vivid.
Very well said David. Let's catch up soon.
Very wise.
The fundamental human dilemma succinctly and well put. Id only add that the dilemma is heightened because we form deep attachments from continued emotional engagement only to have them ended swiftly and seemingly irrevocably.
A lesson we must learn and relearn and again. Oh my.