The Loss of Repetition and Finding Inner Order in a Fast-Paced World
Do you ever feel like you can't recall what you did during the day after a long and tiring one? Do you find yourself mindlessly scrolling through your phone, feeling emotionally numb and increasingly weary, despite nothing significant happening? This might not be just stress; it could be an imbalance in your life's rhythm, a loss of the ability to repeat, as suggested by Han Min-je. This video explores why it's becoming harder to stop, harder to feel satisfied, and harder to find order in a world of constant acceleration. It aims to provide insights and inspiration for regaining inner peace.
The Problem: Continuous Perception
The first part of this discussion revolves around the concept of "continuous perception." This describes a state where we constantly crave new stimuli – buying new things, consuming hot topics, listening to something while walking. It's like an insatiable appetite for new information, exemplified by habits like watching content while eating. This constant influx of information overwhelms us, leaving little time for reflection.
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Our senses are perpetually engaged, preventing us from pausing and contemplating.
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Traditional rituals that once provided stability and calm are disappearing from modern life.
Recovering Rhythm: The Importance of Ritual
Rituals create order and stability. The speaker recalls a time when listening to a weekly meeting livestream provided a sense of grounding amidst the chaos of moving and setting up a new home. This realization highlighted the loss of structure since transitioning to self-employment. Rituals exist in time as houses exist in space, providing a place to reside and release anxiety.
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Rituals build order in a chaotic world, settling our emotions and creating a continuous sense of self.
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These rituals aren't necessarily about religion or returning to the past, but about finding inner depth.
False Repetition vs. True Repetition
The surface-level repetition of daily tasks can feel boring. However, the speaker challenges this notion, asking if we truly understand repetition. She argues that much of what we perceive as repetition is “false repetition,” where we drag our lives through the abstract feelings of society, mistaking this abstract for the reality of life. True repetition, as Kierkegaard said, is "to remember forward."
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True repetition involves bringing memories to life, creating a continuous experience and a stable self.
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Each experience is unique, even seemingly repetitive actions like breathing.
The Trap of Production Compulsion
Anxiety surrounding repetition arises from “production compulsion,” the social pressure to constantly innovate and consume. This creates a negative cycle of forced production, consumption to escape emptiness, and subsequent financial strain. Breaking free from this cycle is challenging due to the ingrained habit patterns it creates.
Breaking Free: Shifting Perspective
When feeling trapped in a cycle of repetitive content creation, the speaker found that the solution wasn't further introspection, but seeking an outside perspective. She shares the story of a woman with a serious illness who was pulled from her despair by focusing on being a role model for her children.
- Focusing on others can help break out of self-absorbed emotional spirals.
The Power of Connection: The Reader and the Author
By seeking different viewpoints and experiences, and paying attention to the reader's or audience's state of mind, one can gain invaluable feedback and insight. Just like books change as we change, finding that connection with others can be the key to breaking through.
Rebuilding Relationships: Disappearing Nearby
While re-establishing connections with those around us, such as neighbors or local workers, can be beneficial, the speaker acknowledges that those who are more introverted may have a difficult time doing this. Another approach is to develop a "gentle affection for nature," like seeing the nearby jade flower as a friend.
Making the Self Disappear
Wang Xiaoyu's teacher suggests rebuilding neighborhood relationships by simply appreciating nature, observing a tree without trying to define its purpose or appearance. The most profound connection occurs when the self disappears, allowing the true essence of the other, whether a person or nature, to shine through. Through an experience of witnessing a tree shaking without wind, the speaker realized the need to let go of her obsession to resonate with the audience. By acknowledging the audience's unique perspectives and rhythms, all worries ceased.
Slowing Down and Embracing the Present
Slowing down, even pausing reading and writing, is a form of resistance against an accelerating society. It allows for experiencing life, feeling the presence of others, processing emotions, and capturing fleeting ideas. For each modern person, every pause and moment of contemplation is an act of resistance against the accelerated nature of our society.
The speaker concludes by expressing gratitude for the viewers' time and encourages everyone to find their own rituals and inner order to navigate the fleeting nature of time.