This calls Huxley's Brave New World to mind. In it, the citizens have absolutely no responsibilities and eagerly live a pointless but happy lives. As you imply, in this modern age, fewer and fewer of us are involved in essential pursuits. More and more of us have careers that border on pointlessness, or are even counter productive. And I think we are seeing an awakening to that reality. Stay tuned.
This is spot on. I agree there is an awakening, but at the same time I wonder if the awakening can happen at scale without some significant event forcing it happen. I hope it can.
That’s such a foreign concept of Sunday depression. I couldn’t wait for the weekend. When I lived in NYC, we walked almost the length of Manhattan from Upper to Lower sides, East or West, discovering new things. When we moved to California, beach was the destination. Now, almost completely retired, I don’t know what is the day of the week without looking at the calendar. All I know is that the Time is accelerating and I don’t have enough hours to grow veggies and pull weeds.
That is a life of meaningful engagement and making the most of every moment. Sunday depression is extremely common, and my sense is it is not a generational issue since Frankl and others wrote of it in the first half of the 20th century. I would be curious to see a meta study on the traits of those who have never felt it — it is a probably a gold mine of psychological insights.
In the flurry of activity that consumes people on all days, I find it difficult to not think it indicates a victory for economic forces at play which "reward" such busyness.
It is striking how much this influences our lives and how hard it is to unplug from this system, at least in mind, since so many professions must abide by the structure of the 7 day week the entire world follows. I appreciate the insight, Jesse.
Thank you for another well-written and thought provoking piece.
I used to despise Sundays for many of the reasons listed above. I treated it like a “well-deserved rest day” and ended up regretting it every time, misguidedly equating “rest” with “do absolutely nothing that I don’t want to do” and turning it into a 16-hour waiting game before Monday’s all-aboard call for the blur of the work week.
My son, as yet unburdened by modernity and so very human, doesn’t know what “Sunday” IS. To him (and thankfully, now, to me) it’s just another waking opportunity to go get it.
Tim, I was in the exact same position for years. I used to ruin myself on Sunday's for the same reason and was fascinated once I cracked the code. Children are the best at reframing the games we as adults like to play with ourselves. It is an ancient perspective. I appreciate the comment.
"As the fiction of how-I-live drifts away, the existential reality of why-I-live drops like a hammer."
Way to construct a sentence with impact there, Sam!! 👏
The Bambuti (and other nature-embedded beings) have no Sunday. They have today. They have now. Can we find our way into that reality? Only partially and with continuous effort.
Thank you, and well said Baird. Theirs was a natural mode of life, one I barely had the chance to scratch the surface of, but once I did, I was addicted and still implement as best I can in a world that does not abide by nature's structure.
Great essay Sam. It reminds me of how important it is to be immersed in people and life; not the representations of people and the world (often false) so easily available through technology, but the tangible world with all its messiness and imperfections. As you drive home with the point about the Matrix, we too often seek ease or what we think is enjoyment in ways that offer a false degree of control and curation. But we're always living in someone else's architecture. Got to break out, connect with real people, explore, discover, take risks, feel joy and pain in our bodies.
This is it entirely. The striking thing is it is all a matter of choice. I hope that as many of our technologies, practices, professions, etc are revealed as detaching us from the world, our attunement with others and nature will increase.
This calls Huxley's Brave New World to mind. In it, the citizens have absolutely no responsibilities and eagerly live a pointless but happy lives. As you imply, in this modern age, fewer and fewer of us are involved in essential pursuits. More and more of us have careers that border on pointlessness, or are even counter productive. And I think we are seeing an awakening to that reality. Stay tuned.
This is spot on. I agree there is an awakening, but at the same time I wonder if the awakening can happen at scale without some significant event forcing it happen. I hope it can.
Trump just may be such an event. But not if everyone just sits and waits for him to make things all better.
That’s such a foreign concept of Sunday depression. I couldn’t wait for the weekend. When I lived in NYC, we walked almost the length of Manhattan from Upper to Lower sides, East or West, discovering new things. When we moved to California, beach was the destination. Now, almost completely retired, I don’t know what is the day of the week without looking at the calendar. All I know is that the Time is accelerating and I don’t have enough hours to grow veggies and pull weeds.
That is a life of meaningful engagement and making the most of every moment. Sunday depression is extremely common, and my sense is it is not a generational issue since Frankl and others wrote of it in the first half of the 20th century. I would be curious to see a meta study on the traits of those who have never felt it — it is a probably a gold mine of psychological insights.
In the flurry of activity that consumes people on all days, I find it difficult to not think it indicates a victory for economic forces at play which "reward" such busyness.
It is striking how much this influences our lives and how hard it is to unplug from this system, at least in mind, since so many professions must abide by the structure of the 7 day week the entire world follows. I appreciate the insight, Jesse.
Thank you for another well-written and thought provoking piece.
I used to despise Sundays for many of the reasons listed above. I treated it like a “well-deserved rest day” and ended up regretting it every time, misguidedly equating “rest” with “do absolutely nothing that I don’t want to do” and turning it into a 16-hour waiting game before Monday’s all-aboard call for the blur of the work week.
My son, as yet unburdened by modernity and so very human, doesn’t know what “Sunday” IS. To him (and thankfully, now, to me) it’s just another waking opportunity to go get it.
Tim, I was in the exact same position for years. I used to ruin myself on Sunday's for the same reason and was fascinated once I cracked the code. Children are the best at reframing the games we as adults like to play with ourselves. It is an ancient perspective. I appreciate the comment.
"As the fiction of how-I-live drifts away, the existential reality of why-I-live drops like a hammer."
Way to construct a sentence with impact there, Sam!! 👏
The Bambuti (and other nature-embedded beings) have no Sunday. They have today. They have now. Can we find our way into that reality? Only partially and with continuous effort.
Thank you, and well said Baird. Theirs was a natural mode of life, one I barely had the chance to scratch the surface of, but once I did, I was addicted and still implement as best I can in a world that does not abide by nature's structure.
Great essay Sam. It reminds me of how important it is to be immersed in people and life; not the representations of people and the world (often false) so easily available through technology, but the tangible world with all its messiness and imperfections. As you drive home with the point about the Matrix, we too often seek ease or what we think is enjoyment in ways that offer a false degree of control and curation. But we're always living in someone else's architecture. Got to break out, connect with real people, explore, discover, take risks, feel joy and pain in our bodies.
This is it entirely. The striking thing is it is all a matter of choice. I hope that as many of our technologies, practices, professions, etc are revealed as detaching us from the world, our attunement with others and nature will increase.