2023-03-20

I haven't been around long enough to know, but if I had to wager, I'd say that the inability to slow down is one of the great grievances of life.

The prompt of this observation is experiencing the situation where one might be undergoing the gnawing, unbearable pain of loss and be expected to return to function within 1 to 2 business days due to the ever-present deadline.

It makes sense.
After all, no matter what's happening to one person, there's another ~7.89 billion with their own things to do. The world will not, cannot stop, regardless of whether you are simply wanting to enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning or whether you are grieving. And this is the way it ought to be. If it wasn't so, nothing would happen and each moment of sadness would be an invitation to wallow.

Nevertheless, I feel the desire for the imaginary happy medium. Unfortunately, it will stay imaginary, if for no other reason than to maintain everything, everywhere, all of the time. It is human nature to opt for the immediate over the quaint, to chase after the bleeding edge regardless of what it cuts.

This is embodied in our society, and I think it has widely been regarded as a bad decision. I don't know anyone who loves the feeling of being addicted to an algorithm. Inversely, I don't know anyone who is yearning for the Black Plague. Hence, the happy medium. But can it exist anymore? Food for thought.