The Pursuit of Meaning in a Superficial World
By: Sukhaja Karanth
Tags: Consumerism, Minimalism, Inner Journey, Existence, Art

We live in a day and age where we’re constantly bombarded by external stimuli. These stimuli are continuously striving for our attention so much, so we barely have enough attention to spare for the things and people in our lives that matter the most.We are consistently being conditioned to focus are already shortened attention spans on superficial things. Like that new game everyone’s playing, that new car recently released in the market, that new TV show everyone’s talking about. FOMO is more real than it ever was. The rat race is about keeping up with the ever-dynamic nature of our fast-paced lives. The supply of these things has finally managed to outrun their demand. We live in an age of abundance. A digital age where things pumped into the alternate dimension of cyber space never truly leave. Overcrowding of this space represents the over-crowing of our minds with clutter. There is no dearth of choice. Our options are too many. We spend half our time choosing, making plans to do things, never really getting down to doing them.

Human selfishness is consistently encouraged, and human self-care is continually compromised.These two things are inversely proportional to each other. When one goes up, the other goes down.The more we indulge our countless external wants, the more we compromise on our innermost

needs. The need to be valued, heard, desired, loved. Thus, we remain stuck in a limbo. An exoskeleton of existence. We are stuck like flies on a spread of jam on toast constantly feeding on sweet things that don’t last and make us feel whole but momentarily. Eventually we are bulimic and need to throw it all up to keep from getting sick. We are urged to buy and buy things for ourselves — that Netflix subscription, Amazon prime too. Yes, the shows on Netflix and Amazon prime are artistic. But whenever art is mass produced and easily accessible to all, its status is devalued. The fact of the matter is, we are focussing more on entertaining ourselves rather than confronting the reality of our own situations. No wonder we get anxiety when we think about our existence. We can barely live without constantly indulging in escapism or things that give us a quick dose of gratification. As a race, we are forgetting what it truly means to live.

Gone are the days when we could simply have a meaningful conversation with someone we met on the bus, at the library, or shared the table at the cafeteria. We can only put up with some small talk at best. Everyone is absorbed in a make-believe world that’s as far removed from reality as it can get. The fear of loneliness is stronger than it ever was. The fear of appearing lonely to others is stronger. We would rather plug in and pretend to be busy entertaining ourselves rather than be available for a real conversation with a friend or co-worker. We are always pushing our feelings under the carpet and letting ourselves get distracted by external stimuli. No wonder mental health is a huge issue these days. Everything out there is designed to indirectly encourage self-negation. A reminder of how insignificant we are, how meaningless our existence is.

Perhaps, the real therapy we all need comes from making time for real talk with the people who truly care about us. One way we can slow down the inertia of our lives is by being vulnerable, admitting our feelings,acknowledging them, telling people how we truly feel. Openness.Real talk. But even this is hard to do today because our friends, the people we count on along with everybody else are being distracted by external stimuli, forces beyond our control. They inhabit an alternate realm, one we simply cannot reach. They let themselves be distracted enough that they are unable to really LISTEN to us. And so, we are trapped in a vicious circle that never ends. Everyone is, you and me.

Because we would rather pay for a good movie to escape our mundane realities than pay to go look at objects in a museum left by past civilizations living in simpler times that involved a less demanding existence. We would rather pay for the things that give us momentary satisfaction. That rush, that quick high rather than invest in learning something new, taking up a hobby, or travel to new destinations where we could see first-hand the lives of people from a different culture. We are all guilty. It really looks like we’re heading towards being more like the people depicted in the Disney film Wall-E.

Perhaps, the only way we can help ourselves is by distracting ourselves from the distracting stimuli out there. By expressing ourselves more. By doing the things that make us who we really are and doing them often. By reminding ourselves that there is more to life than materialism, extravagance, instant gratification, dopamine rushes. It’s time to dig deeper and question what’s being presented to us by ruthless companies and capitalism. There are walks in beautiful parks to be taken, there are people to meet at lovely locales, there are foods to try without a sense of self-consciousness, there’s music to be heard, there’s learning to be done, there is art to be looked at and admired. Art to relate to. Art from our forefathers to help us come to terms with our existence. Because art alone will save us. It is the only free space where the authenticity of being human comes to the fore and gains expression sans censorship.

So, let us fight the distractions and not fall prey to the ways of our consumerist society. Let us instead pay attention to our rich inner worlds and think of ways to give this expression. Let us read more, travel further than we have before. Let us talk with the intent of forming bonds, let us reach out to people and fine tune our conversations. Let’s focus on giving and kindness rather than buying and selfishness. Let’s think about slowness and embrace stillness. Let’s set aside our phones for a few minutes to listen to the silence that makes life beautiful. Let us reconnect with what it means to truly be human. Let’s shut the distractions and think about ourselves and the place we occupy in this world — embrace the crisis of our existence in the pursuit of meaning. Something tells me that if we all did this, our lives would have more meaning and we’d be a whole lot happier.