I think i was just being ignorant, but i always figured life had more to it than this. It seems pretty predictable and mundane for the most part. I don’t really have a point beyond that. Its a good thing though, knowing most of us will live relatively predictable lives affecting only a small circle of close people, but yeah i think this is finally starting to sink in.
Frankly, given how much “excitement” I’ve got in the last few years, I could use a bit more safe, predictable mundanity.
Only a small fraction of everyone who has ever lived is/was recognized by more than a few countrymen. I used to go to places such as www.encyclopedia.com and start reading article after article. Even some of the most astounding people in history only have a page about them. What is worse, however, is the fact that there are thousands upon thousands of these one-article atributers. The people who have made the most influence on history are nothing but another group in the hierarchy of popularity. Some have grown past this and have achieved universal success but most have not, even in annals of the past. Chances of you even having your own indention on the history of the world, however, is slim. The chances of you becoming a historical celebrity, as the aforementioned set of people who have grown past their one page, are almost nill. Contributing to life’s most brilliant anticlimax is the realization of the world pulling all this history down with it while collapsing upon itself. All knowledge you have contributed, even if you contributed like one of the elusive “brahmans” of the popularity hierarchy, will eventually be decimated and lost. The select few who have seemed to be known by all are in no better place than yourself. World’s begin, world’s collide, world’s collapse into indifference. Such is the way of life, you must not assume you could of suffered a better exsistence if you have not. As Woody Gutherie sang:
“And the people in the houses
All go to the university,
And they all get put in boxes,
Little boxes, all the same.
And there’s doctors and there’s lawyers
And business executives,
And they’re all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same.”
We all have these realizations in life where we finally realize we have not been what we had wanted. We all have dreamed of the golden exsistence. I would venture to say this epiphanous musing is a universal suffering. Maybe, even, we all experience an anticlimatic ending. It is an ending, atleast, past this world of waning health. Just accept your life how it is and accept that even if you were one of the most influential thinkers of our time or even the richest person to ever live, your contributions on history would be the same as your true self. All are post-death extensions on the world will perish, all meaning will be lost. It happens, there is nothing you can do about it.
Oh, yea, and welcome to midlife!
I always take “mundane” to mean boring. So, no, my life is far from mundane. Heh, sometimes I wish it was a little more uneventful, but not yet. I’m rarely, if ever, bored.
As for my impact on the world, as long as I’m not making a negative one, I’m ok with that.
I think we all affect more people than we know, if we didn’t exist many things would be so different…just like the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”.
Don’t forget the chain reactions that our actions cause.
Henry David Thoreau wrote: "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. …
Most of my life (I’m 44) I felt that statement pretty well summed up life. There didn’t seem to be much point. I had it better than most people in a lot of ways, but still life seemed to be one long series of obstacles to happiness. And the happiness of getting past one obstacle was tainted by the knowledge that it was just a lull before the next storm.
But over the last few years things started to fall into place, and I guess you could say I found my purpose in life. I think it’s something different for everyone, but for me it was buying a cottage with a bit of land in rural Donegal, starting my own educational software business, playing music and raising alpacas. Might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but to me it’s paradise. I am genuinely happy now, enjoying life instead of enduring it.
I don’t necessarily believe that there is a “purpose” to life, but I do think each person can find or create a unique purpose for themselves. It may take a lot of exploration to discover it.
Sorry, shouldn’t have used the QUOTE tag there. But seeing “Originally Posted by Henry David Thoreau” was good for a laugh!
The Cambridge online Dictionary defines mundane thusly:
Definition: mundane (adjective) Very ordinary and therefore not interesting:
Example: Mundane matters such as paying bills and shopping for food do not interest her.
I would say that there are any number of very ordinary things that are very interesting…for example, falling in love. So mundane doesn’t have to be anything rare or unusual.
Must of us do a lot of very ordinary things (and a number of unusual things, too) and should not consider our lives mundane. Just enjoy life and live it with gusto! Being famous is what is in other people’s heads…so it is not really nearly as important as being joyfully involved in your own life.
Just a point of view from an older SDMBer.
A few years ago I heard a quote and it has stuck in my memory ever since. It was that “life is 90% boredom and 10% terror”. I can’t remember the source of the quote, but I think in many ways it’s quite apt.
Not most of us; all of us. Everyone’s life is composed mostly of mundane trivia. It’s only in history books that some people’s lives appear to have been struggles of Wagnerian scale. Even the most action-packed, Hollywood-worthy life–say, for example, the life of George S. Patton–is mostly a bunch of standing in line, sniffing the milk to see if it’s still good, and complaining that the goddam neighbor’s dog got into our trash again.
This isn’t a bad thing; the older I get, the more appreciative I am of the down-time in between action sequences. You know, stopping to smell the roses and all that.
All I know, is that life is bloody well short. You got one shot at today. The effect of a life well lived has far reaching impact though you are too busy living it to notice.
“Life is either a great adventure or nothing.”
- Helen Keller
This from a deaf-mute -blind person???
- count blessings
- get on with it
:rolleyes: [sup]What’s the name of that other forum?[/sup]
Mundane, to a point. But exciting.
It’s all how you look at things.
I remember introducing a younger friend of mine to makeup. (Her mom was never much of a “girly girl” and so she never was encouraged to use it.) We went to the drug store. I showed her the aisles and aisles of pretty colored lipsticks and eyeshadows, all lined up, all so pretty and coordinated, and I stretched out my arms with great enthusiasm and said, “Look at that colors!”
She didn’t understand what the big deal was at first, but later on, she told me that she did. It was exciting. Color is exciting. It’s beautiful. The mundane lipsticks in a boring drug store are exciting. Almost anything is exciting if you let yourself feel enthusiastic about it. You just have to decide to look at it in that way.
Sometimes, things are hum-drum and there’s nothing you can do about it, but a lot of it is just making the most of it—finding something to get excited about.
It’s important to find joy and interest in diverse things. Don’t be a stick in the mud, who can only find enjoyment from partying, the night life, playing Bingo, computer games, whatever, because you never know where life might lead you. Don’t box yourself in and only derive excitement or joy from things that only younger people do, or only older people do, or only Armenians do, or whatever. Find many things that interest you, and go for them when the time allows. Don’t let yourself be bored. Don’t assume that life is boring or mundane. There’s no damned excuse to be bored, when there is so much out there to learn and to do. Don’t wait for things to come to you, make things happen, find exciting stuff to do.
A while ago I moved to Hooterville (far from my beloved Southern California) and though I bitch and whine about being homesick, and about how it’s harder to get to Yosemite on a whim (5 1/2 hrs. vs. 2 1/2 days: you do the math), and it’s harder to find art supplies, there is no excuse for me to be bored. Mail order sends me art supplies. Amazon.com gives me books. The Internet gives me the L.A. Times and a multitude of other interesting sources of information. There’s always something to do. Something new to learn.
Unless you zero free time, there is always something you can do to make your life less mundane.
Sorry, I got side-tracked. Hope that helped to answer your question! 
So far, not mundane. Partly because I’ve made choices that have taken me interesting places, and because I have a creative streak and a capacity for entertaining myself. I’ve had patches where the routine was sticking in my craw, so barring periods of depression, those are the times I change things up and blow the routine away as much as possible. Work is somewhat mundane, but I’m fortunate enough at the moment to work for a good company that doesn’t put undue restraints on self-expression, so while it’s definitely a “day job” and I need to get my act together sometime so I can support myself creatively, it’s not desperation right now.
Wes my life has been anything but mundane and I’ve never been bored. Hell, I wish it were less eventful most of the time. The bad and the good…hmmm
As BAD as my life is at this particular time, it is not as bad as many of the good times were good AND by GOD it ain’t much fun right now! But my wife and I had some damned good times. I wouldn’t trade off one if I had to lose the other too.
BUT…you have got to seize every opportunity that you get. If (speaking for myself now) you get up in the morning every morning and you dread the day before you. You know what man? It’s time for a change. Do something, do it now, don’t wait and then look back when you’re too old to try something new. Don’t look back and regret what you might’ve done. Appreciate the little things too. Take comfort in your family. Smile when you meet someone. Yeah I know it sounds corny but buddy, it works for me. What do they say? “smell the flowers.” Offer a few compliments everyday to someone. You’ll be surprised at how much better things seem to get.
I was in a rut for awhile…not boring or mundane just tired of the same old bullshit. Get up, work all day, come home, party get drunk, pass out…repeat next
day.
I just quit…went to Mexico for awhile with what cash I had and wound up breaking horses for a living. That lasted a couple of years. Then I camped out on a mountain one year guiding hunts and building fence. Finally after my twenties was done I decided I’d go to college. Met the love of my life there after practically giving up on women (Several bad romances in the past). From then til now…it’s been, well let’s just say I haven’t been bored.
So, I have found myself in a new situation lately. I buried my wife last week. Not good…very bad, still hurts like hell. Somedays I can barely find the strength to continue. But ya know what, I realize that this is part of life. I don’t have to like it. EVEN though when the next opportunity that comes my way, I’m gonna grab that sucker with both hands.
Girls…do I understand you’ve been having a problem getting a girl?
Confidence in yourself is the probably one of the most attractive things to the opposite sex. Not false bravado, arrogance or cockiness mind you, just knowing your abilities and being comfortable with yourself.
Sorry if I’m outta line here. Seems like I ran across you making a point somewhere along those lines.
Anyway Wes take care and thanks for letting me use a little of your thread. I’m seeking my own therapy and hopefully I can help some of my friends here at the “dope”. Returning the favor actually.
BTW You’ve already made an impact on the world by simply posting on this board. You’ve had an affect on me and who else. I feel better already just realizing that I’m gonna get another chance at life. Maybe … hmmm, who knows what’ll happen tomorrow. I assure you this week ain’t gonna be a repeat of last week. 
No… Never mundane. When I start to think it is something big happens (good or bad… or just odd) so now I just don’t think about it and go on my way while odd events continue to happen (well you can’t go three days at college without having something strange happen).
ing
I work in a hospital. So no.
Also, I just found out my ex and a good friend hooked up a month after we broke up and were too embarrassed to tell me about it (my reaction: I knew it! And I still don’t care). Mundane? No. DRAMA!
I was depressed when i started this thread, i think i meant pointless instead of mundane. I feel that way when im depressed.
For those of you who feel you live life to the fullest, why/how do you feel that way?
A subscriber pointed me to this thread since I have a constant battle with depression. Bipolar disorder to be more specific and it’s a bitch. I side with Sartre that becoming aware that we may have absolutely no purpose in life can be nauseating. I obsess about the mundane, the ordinariness of daily life. My solution (addictive fix) had been to seek constant stimulation. I go out nearly every night, not to some fancy venue with interesting friends, but to strip clubs where for the price of a couch dance and a few overpriced drinks I can find company. I skydive. I dream about skydiving and having better gear. I’m always plannig a SCUBA trip that I cannot afford. My point is, having some portfolio when it comes to battling depression, that I find relief by constantly being active, healthy or otherwise.