Life Isn't An Adventure

P.S. That's a miniature stone behind him.

You’ve seen these posts on Facebook or Instagram.  Or whatever the new platform may be. A slew of pics and a story about someone’s’ vacation or wedding or a big party where everyone had a great time.  It fills you with joy or sickens you because you missed it.  It’s the inescapable charm and curse of social media. 

I can’t complain about that stuff.  Most of the time, I love seeing all of it.  My issue is (It took me a while to consolidate my thoughts on this) the inevitable post that describes life as one big adventure.  They are off to their next adventure, series of adventures, or that life, itself, is one big adventure.

Come on, man. Life isn’t an adventure.  Raiders of the Lost Ark is an adventure.  And, it’s a good example.  Indiana Jones has a very weird side job where he searches for and steals artifacts for his university.  That’s the adventurous part, for sure, and more adventure than we’d ever experience.  However, his full-time career is a professor of archeology at a stuffy New England school. Not an adventure.  Just driving to and from work, grading papers, wondering when there will be a cure for polio.  (It was the thirties.)

Why do we do this to ourselves?  Why do we put this pressure on our lives, as if it doesn’t have enough pressure as it is?  We have to work and take care of our families, be there for friends, try to be healthy and a good citizen, fix our cars, clean our toilets, clip our toenails, walk our dogs, eat our vegetables, and not lose our shit when the world feels likes like its upside down and on fire.  On top of all that, now we have to make it an adventure, too? Screw that. 

By all means, have adventures if that’s your thing.  I bet it’s fun.  Adventures take time and money and those are both things I want one day.  But I have to clarify that I’m not saving up for adventures.  I know the stats show that most people prefer experiences to material possessions. I do, too.  But there aren’t really any specifics on what those experiences should be.  I’m interested in peace.  Just peace.  Quiet is fine from time to time, but I want peace in my life.  Conversation, one-on-one time, games, movies, long walks…I can’t wait to be as free from demands and responsibilities as any adult can possibly get.  Nowhere in there is a craving for adventure, and certainly, I would never want my life to be an adventure.

I understand it’s just a frame of mind.  You can look at your life through any prism you choose.  There’s just so much mundanity in our lives that I think it’s a tall order to try to act like you’re on a constant adventure. Life just isn’t that exciting. It’s not.  You know it and I know it.  Why do we take photos when we’re on vacation?  Because its special.  It’s rare.  You don’t take selfies in front of the paper towels at the grocery store or in your garage when you’re looking for that hammer you always lose.  Why?  Because that boring shit fills all of our days.  It’s the fun we want to remember, right?  At most, we want as many tiny adventures as we can grab spread throughout our boring-ass lives. 

It doesn’t have to be exciting to be precious.  It doesn’t have to be a thrill to be sacred.  It doesn’t always have to fit neatly in a movie script and not every moment is worth a photo and a description.

Is it that you think life is an adventure, or do you want me to believe that YOUR life is an adventure?

Here, There Be Morons

I don’t know what to do about the dummies.  I’m afraid of one of the millions with no good ideas.  A definition of what I mean by ‘the dummies’ would fit perfectly right here.  I would explain that I don’t mean these people, but I do mean these people. I’m a pretty nice person and I don’t want to offend someone reading this by making them out to be dummies when they aren’t really dummies. Then again, if you’re not a dummy, then you probably wouldn’t need that explanation, right?

I can only explain myself. I don’t believe that people who aren’t very smart are any better or worse than me.  Not even a little bit.  We’re just human beings trapped in sacks of meat and bone for 70 or 80 years, trying to make the best out of a weird situation.  But I also acknowledge the truth in front of me.  If even the most modest basketball player watched me try to play for two minutes, he would know that I suck.  I also know I suck and assumed I would suck before I touched the ball.  It’s the exact same with intelligence.  I can spot a dummy within seconds.  The problem is, the dummies don’t know.  Why?  Well as I’ve whined about before, we’re just not allowed to call that out. 

All that aside, we still have to do something about these morons.

The problem is, morons are easily frightened and manipulated.  Other morons, or smart people with evil plans, love to use morons to their advantage.  It is the basis of the American political system and the driving force behind capitalism.  It can’t be rectified without dismantling and rebuilding both of those institutions, and that takes a shitload of time.  Besides, I’m getting older and I’d like to enjoy some of my life without the screams and grunts of morons for a few decades.  I’ll let my kids change the world.  Me, I just don’t want dumb shit all up in my face.

So, what can we do?  We all know we can vote, and that has some effectiveness, although that only matters when its an election year.  We can vote with our dollar, but as we all know, morons have money to spend, too and they like to spend it on shiny useless garbage. 

Then where to focus?  Social media?  Maybe.  Maybe we can make a stand there?  At least let it be known that there still are intelligent people who draw breath and give a shit about what happens in the world.

Here’s what I do.  I refuse to even acknowledge the ramblings of people who don’t recognize the world is literally round.  I don’t argue.  I ignore.  I ignore the ridiculous unfounded conspiracy theories that aren’t even well-written fiction.  I ignore people who speak in empty platitudes or sound bites.  The generalized fears of science, money, government, and technology.  If there aren’t specifics, I ignore. If you refuse to recognize verified sources just because they challenge your beliefs or make you feel icky, I ignore.

That seems to be the sticking point in our modern talking point cesspool.  Humans are having a tough time understanding the difference between truth and belief.  I think this may be a problem across the intelligence spectrum.  It affects all of us, like the common cold and global warming (Another thing that morons don’t like to believe in.)  As far as I understand it, belief is one thing and the truth is another. Truths are verifiable in one way or another, with methods that are also verifiable. For instance, the earth is round because it’s round. Belief is something you hold true inside yourself, but you can’t necessarily prove it.  Here’s the biggest distinction: Belief does not require proof.  Belief is where religion, love, friendship, hope, art…all of those intangible and beautiful things live.  They make life worth living.  But they don’t need proof.  And because of that, we can’t get them mixed up with truth. 

You can believe the world should be one way or another, that doesn’t mean that it is.  Or will be.  Or can be.  The world is the world and your belief is your belief.  Math and science can prove so much, and a lot of that might not jibe with your belief.  That’s your problem.  But remember, in the end, belief doesn’t need proof.  Congressional budgets should require proof.  Corporate quarterly reports.  Textbooks.  Medical journals.  And…well…the news, too. If they say it's true and they don’t have proof, I ignore.

It may sound like a passive resistance…possibly because it is.  It also isn’t easy to do.  I’d love to argue and force them to listen to reason, too.  But it doesn’t work.  Ignoring someone is the sure-fire way to get them to shut up.  For this plan to work, everyone would have to ignore them.  But I can only control myself.  I value my time and attention that bullshit isn’t worth either one.

Remember that scene in 12 Angry Men where the last remaining holdout juror loses his shit?  He’s going on a racist tirade, and the other jurors, knowing he’s just full of his own hate and bile, literally turn their backs on him?  That’s what I’m getting at.  We may not be able to change the minds of dipshits or shame them into action or shutting the hell up.  But, in that act of rejecting their ludicrous words, the rest of us have a chance to become a little closer.  By ignoring them, we may bond over the experience and make it more difficult for the next wave of dumbassery to consume us.