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It's all about distractions
19/02/2008 13:03 - (SA)
David Moseley
Because I have nothing to do all weekend except lie around and think about what I'm going to write next, I have come to the conclusion that life is nothing but a series of distractions designed to keep your mind off the inevitable.
Like the old saying goes, there are only three things guaranteed in life: death, taxes and the absolute certainty that whoever gets put in charge of a South African sporting code is guaranteed to be 99% moron, one percent administrator. Everything you do during the day, at night and on the weekend is simply ensuring that you continue the feel-good delusions you've become accustomed to until your number's up.
Try staying at home for a few days or over the weekend with no books, beer, prostitutes, PlayStation, whatever your distraction of choice, and see how much fun it is. You'll enjoy the silence for a moment, but after two days of counting your toes you'll be crying out for any kind of stimulus.
If we didn't have all these wonderful toys and escapes to keep us grinning gormlessly through the day we'd be hanging nooses in our living rooms instead of designer lampshades.
Which is not to say the distractions are bad things. They're great. We need them because the clear-cut outlook on life is pretty bleak - you're born, you grow, you work, you die. Woo hoo. What a barrel of laughs that is. I'm no student of the mind, but I'm sure that's got something to do with the way the world has expanded in centuries gone by. Humans can't sit still and let life idly pass by.
Create, destroy, conquer, burn
We need to create, destroy, conquer, burn, build and sleep around because we're so determined to not let the inescapable truth get us down - our lives really mean nothing in the greater scheme of things. Great men and women do come and go, this is true, and they leave marvellous items behind for the rest to enjoy. But they're still buried six-feet under.
The average man, the not-so-great people, conquer the working world. We run half-marathons, we sit around the boardroom table discussing the merits of red instead of blue on the cover of a magazine, we gather with our friends and dissect the lives of those that aren't present, others choose to remain off the grid and enjoy a lifetime of travel and non-commitment. Either way, it's the same thing. It's a distraction.
If people are honest, which they never are, they'll tell you they live hopping from one good moment to another. Life can't ever be a constant stream of bliss. But we wish it was. The rich buy speedboats and wakeboards, the middle-management and middling crowd wait giddily for the next company freebie to get them through the day.
It makes the search for a single meaning of life futile. There isn't one. There are many. How you enjoy your distractions of preference will give you the meaning you're looking for. You can find it in selfless devotion to others, you can find it in the good book, in a loving relationship... you can find it on a mountain bike 700m above sea level, you can find it in a collection of shimmering sports cars.
Bottom line is, the distractions are good. It's what makes life worth living. And whether you're creating a seven-metre wide mural depicting the atrocities of the Spanish Civil War or colouring-in using a paint-by-numbers set, as long as your mind is wandering it's all good.
Send your comments to David.
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