Going Nowhere Fast August 21, 2012
Posted by nrhatch in Happiness, Mindfulness.trackback
The purpose of life is a life of purpose. Simply stated, we need a reason to get up in the morning.
The overriding purpose is sustaining life itself.
We must produce, forage, beg, steal, find, borrow, or buy food, clothing, shelter, and water . . . and find mates for companionship and to ensure the continuation of the species.
Basic needs satisfied, we can choose to be idle. But if we choose idleness, happiness escapes us for purpose eludes us.
This is why the “idle rich” are so seldom happy with their lot in life. They have no real need or reason to get up in the morning if all they will do is consume accumulated resources.
Floating through life devoid of purpose is B~O~R~I~N~G.
So the Paris Hiltons of the world find diversions, and thinly disguised vices, to amuse themselves.
They shop. They lunch. They gossip. They gamble. They gather at clubs, hobnobbing with others of like ilk. They swap mates.
They generate new “needs” (seldom more than desires and wants) to fuel ego gratification through external accolades, applause, and recognition. Bigger houses. Fancier clothes. Faster cars. Private jets and yachts. Jewelry. Art. Furs. Sports Teams. Conspicuous consumption.
They plan outings to the opera or symphony. They don silly hats to watch horses race round the track in circles.
Going nowhere fast.
Like horses stuck in circuituity for perpetuity, they begin to realize, at some level, that they don’t need to be here at all.
With that realization, fat cats and parasites without purpose turn to drugs, legal and illegal, to mask the pain of a purposeless existence. We find them, bloated and dead, in hotel bathtubs or stuck on toilets in Graceland.
Who can blame them? Singing the same songs on different stages for amorphous masses is as pointless as horses racing round in circles . . . going nowhere fast.
The purpose of life is a life of purpose . . . keep reinventing yourself.
Aah . . . that’s better!
The scariest moment is always just before you start. ~ Stephen King
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Spirit Lights The Way 
So poignant and true Nancy.
Thanks, Don! Moderation in all things . . . including idleness. 😉
Interesting post. Idleness and lack of purpose is one of the biggest problems with those who retire to the sun early. People often give up a high powered job where they were challenging their mind and then nothing when they retire! As for the fat cats and their pampered wives especially expat wives it’s a fingers down the throat job as I listen to them. They are never satisfied.
I see the bitchy result of idleness here. Ladies sitting up the local bars drinking to excess, bitching about others or having affairs.
I ask them how they fill their days – they don’t. Maybe a Pilates class, go for a swim or read a chic flic or two. Boring….
I feel sorry for them and but they feel sorry for me as I talk passionately about recycling (in real terms and not taking a bag of bottles to the bottle bank in their 4L 4X4), my blogging exploits, gardening, painting, bodyboarding etc etc.
In fact, it was not until the other day and I was passionately discussing the composer “Bach”, and how difficult it was to play and express the complexities of his music, with a friends husband that I suddenly realised how much I missed playing an instument as a form of expression.I used to play and teach the classical guitar until I sustained an injury which prevented me from doing so again.
Our life needs purpose and if not we are lost…
Finding new interests and pursuing different avenues keeps us alive, awake, and aware.
But “old friends” are good too ~ is there another instrument you could play (keyboards, perhaps?) . . . or could you play classical guitar on an occasional basis just to keep your toes wet?
I’ve had many friends who have no purpose or passion in life. I find it difficult to be friends with someone like that. There is no substance. Nothing to discuss. No joy. Not much life.
Yes! People who live without passion have nothing of import from their own lives to discuss . . . so they resort to gossip and idle chatter. Definitely not my cup of tea.
I’m reading Stephen King’s book On Writing right now, Nancy. It’s a great quote, and a great book.
Every journey begins with a first step . . . often the most difficult step to take.
Just start . . . and the WAY appears. 😀
I never feel more satisfied and content than when I’m writing something original. Even more so, when I get positive feedback. Unfortunately, it’s been much too long since I’ve come up with anything new. When that happens, I start hanging out on facebook and other sites and getting myself into trouble.
Now however, I have a new book in the planning stages. I think I’ll be able to begin the writing any day now, and start posting chapters on webook.com in early September. I’ll let you and everyone on WTF facebook know when the posting’s begun.
Best of luck with your new idea, William. Writing is a delight for me too.
Oh, Nancy, this is truth, so right on! This morning, as I woke up thinking of a few mundane tasks I had to do such as watering the flowers, I thought to myself, I must always keep a purpose in my life. It’s what energizes me. It’s amazing that I am thinking this and you write a blog about it. It’s not the first time you make a post about something that is alignment to whatever I am experiencing at the moment. Thank you for this!
Thank YOU, Marie. Your enthusiasm is ALWAYS a delight. Hope you and the Birthday Boy have a BLAST on Thursday. 😀
This is true! I hadn’t really thought about it before, but we do need a reason to live, so to speak. I know when the kids spend the night at Grandma and Grandpa’s, I’ve chosen to be lazy and do absolutely nothing. I had no reason to fix breakfast, or even get dressed. The day ends and I feel so lazy. It’s kind of the unoccupied retirement situation on a very small scale 🙂
Days of indolence are very important for our peace of mind . . . when the kids are away, you should laze away the day. 😉
Like Auntie Mame says “Life is a buffet and most poor fools are starving to death.”
Wise old gal, that Auntie Mame!
These days, with all the specialized niches we’ve carved for ourselves in the work place, instead of being a jack of all trades, we’re often slaves to one repetitive task that we “do to death.”
Efficient? Perhaps. Interesting way to spend our lives? Nope.
I think many of us would like to have a taste of that ‘good life’, anyway! Then the trick is like Branson, or a good friend of mine who retired very comfortably off, to fill your time with adventure and challenges.
Always be learning!
Reinvent yourself, but just don’t lose sight of your true being. Life is an adventure…explore it.
Easier said than done, but it’s a goal.
Yes. Exploring new horizons gives us a better perspective on who we really are . . . if we stay in the same “rut,” our perspective is limited to how we are where we are.
Life is a process and I’m all for pushing the process!
Exploring new interests and garnering new ideas helps keep things fresh . . . and gives us something to chat about without resorting to gossip about others. 😉
I’ll always choose forward movement rather than idleness, but I’ll admit that taking a well deserved break feels nice once in a while!
Work hard . . . play hard. 😀
So true, Nancy. It reminds me of Churchill, who always said you should just keep going: and look at how many times he reinvented himself, always with that steely core!
Yes! One step after the other . . . moving with steely purpose.
Yes, and isn’t it interesting that, often, in the performance of those tasks that we might find “mundane” but necessary, we come face to face with something new and enlightening to us? Chopping wood and carrying water sometimes comes with surprises!
I agree. When we are mindful as we move through mundane tasks, we often learn something new.
Cheers to a thought provoking post and excellent quote, thanks Nancy!
Each new endeavor starts with a “hesitant” first step. But it’s the best way to keep dancing through life.
Wonderful post! King is right about the scariest moment being when you start–but it gets scary during the stalls and stops, too–and that’s where your words ring true. Thanks for this.
Glad you enjoyed, Marylin. Here’s to taking bold steps in the direction of our dreams.
That Stephen King quote is SOOOO true! Great post, thanks!
Just start . . . and the way will appear. 😀
So true.
Here’s to expanding horizons, Tok.
[…] But most of us are far too distracted to notice that we are going nowhere fast. […]