What is wrong with living a life of mundanity?
What is wrong with living a life of mundanity? Why always strive to make a difference, to create, to have a legacy? Why do we believe that we must be more than what we are? Why do we subconsciously strive to live past our own lifespan? Is it possible to accept our average life like an ant in a colony, a bee in a hive? We are just a tiny aspect. So why do we feel shame and guilt when we just live; and experience, void of productivity?
Internalised capitalism
Internalised capitalism is our environment's self-perpetuating propaganda. That our self-worth is directly linked to our productivity output. If we are not doing or creating or consuming then you are of no use to the system.
This idea is harmful to our mental health and well-being. It is completely incorrect. Being alive instantly makes you worthy, of all the joys of life. We should be allowed to experience all the emotions, thoughts and feelings that life brings. Not being productive is a wonderful thing for your soul. Nothing beats, lying in a park, looking up at the clouds passing us by. While hearing birds or other people's conversation about their own insignificant lives.
You will never be famous
What is with this popular content these days? Why are so many people striving to be heard, and thought about? People want your attention, even when they have nothing important or useful to say. Think about social media there is no back-and-forth conversation. Only if the creator isn't consistently replying in the comments for eternity. There is no discussion, no debate, just dictatorship.
"Discard your thirst for books, so that you won’t die in bitterness, but in cheerfulness and truth, grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart." - Aurelius, Marcus
I interoperate Marcus Aurelius thought, in terms of distractions and forms of entertainment. Discard your thirst for social media, likes or the need for popularity. Because the world out there is true, and real, unlike pixels on a screen. Accept this a be free for the need to become famous. Being left alone; the joy and freedom of anonymity to do whatever you want. Without eyes judging you is a wonderful thing.
Mundanity
Mundane is lacking excitement or seems interesting. Mundane and mundanity; means to be dull, and boring. Mundanity also means of this world. Void of spiritual or heavenly aspects. But I would argue against this description of the world and look to Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu.
"Lasting happiness cannot be found in the pursuit of any goal or achievement. It does not reside in fortune or fame. It resides only in the human mind and heart, and it is here that we hope you will find it." - Lama, Dalai; Tutu, Desmond
Here I see that happiness comes from everyday life. Happiness and meaning come from a simply mundane lifestyle. Joy in a slow simple life. Where are can appreciate and have gratitude for all the things we have. Food, water, the warm taste of coffee in the morning, the crammed slow ride on a train to work. the sound of rain hitting our windscreen in the morning traffic.
Joy comes from viewing, and living in the moment. Fear and anxiety come from looking into the future. Focusing on what might be, instead of what is happing right now.
Conclusion
Everything you are and know is a social construct. Money, phones, shoes, religion even democracy. Just because someone devalues an object, thought, feeling or person doesn't mean that dictates its true value. Just because someone considers their life boring doesn't make it so. My life might be a prison to someone else but to me it is bliss. In saying all this, I leave you with this quote from the book 'The Courage to be Disliked.'
"value is something that’s based on a social context." - Kishimi, Ichiro; Koga, Fumitake
Footnotes
Aurelius, Marcus. Meditations (Modern Library) (p. 18). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Lama, Dalai; Tutu, Desmond. The Book of Joy. The Sunday Times Bestseller (p. ix). Random House. Kindle Edition.
Kishimi, Ichiro; Koga, Fumitake. The Courage to be Disliked: The Japanese phenomenon that shows you how to free yourself, change your life and achieve real happiness. Allen & Unwin. Kindle Edition.