Are we all spoiled?
Are you familiar with the term life dysmorphia? Dysmorphia is generally associated with body or gender, and is essentially an euphemism for a chronic mental condition indicated by a deep dissatisfaction with a certain aspect of life.
Well, for life dysmorphia the dissatisfaction is with life itself. Life dysmorphia is used to describe a pervasive sense of dissatisfaction with one’s life circumstances, leading to negative thoughts and feelings about one’s career, relationships, achievements, possessions, and overall life path. And it seems this is a growing condition in much of the modern world.
I don’t deny that I’ve had inklings of this type of dysmorphia, as I’m sure many have. Surely not all of life is perfectly satisfactory, and many aspects of this existence tend to leave you wanting. There’s probably a fine line between dissatisfaction and full blown dysmorphia, so I imagine the line is how long one spends dwelling on these shortcomings and beating oneself up about one’s lot in life.
A conversation with a friend sparked this notion when they were comparing a relative’s living conditions with their own and musing that this relative was indeed spoiled. That made me question myself: am I spoiled?
I mean not like a rotten egg. Maybe I smell a little, but I mean like a spoiled brat who throws tantrums at the slightest perceived injustice or decision that does not go his way.
While I would not consider myself a spoiled brat, it’s all relative isn’t it? Much of us in this modern machinated world would be seen as spoiled to one of our ancestors living a century ago in stifled squalor, with little access to food and clean water, let alone air-conditioning and hot coffee every day.
In this day and age, we have the luxury to step back and take stock and complain and rant about our meaningless existence and aimless wanderings. Our ancestors likely didn’t have the time or energy to sit around pondering the great endless void and how shitty their lives were compared to all the lifestyle influencers on the Gram.
It dawned on me weeks ago as I was tuning in to an uplifting song on my bone conduction headphones during my run that I was privileged to be able to listen to finely-crafted music any time I wanted. Back in the day, they had to hire an orchestra or sit by the beach to hear a steady calming rhythm, to harken to the sounds of the earth and vibrations of the universe.
How amazingly lucky we are to have such conveniences that we take for granted! To have a marching band playing along next to our ears while we go on our scheduled runs or rides was something people only used to have at big events and special occasions. Does this make us jaded and coddled, make us devalue such lofty pleasures and become entitled assholes? Turn us all into soft, spoiled brats?
Now we lounge in air-conditioned cafes sipping our mug of joe in front of our tablet device blasting the latest remixed lofi tunes, bitching on some Discord forum about the state of the world and how listless life has become, ranting about how we can’t decide which masters course to cruise down to carry us into the right career as we casually mow down some virtual shellfish on Steam.
And we complain we suffer from life dysmorphia, so take pity on us!
The gall.
Well, experiences and emotions are all subjective, aren’t they? Comparison is the thief of joy, as they say, so is it fair to compare our current cynical conditions to those of our ancestors? Are we not allowed to feel dissatisfaction with our lot in life, not allowed to be unhappy with our fast-paced, faceless, cog-in-the-machine existence?
So what if we’re spoiled silly by our modern conveniences? No need to walk everywhere, or sweat or get our hands dirty in the hot sun, or sit down and have a meeting together? Have we earned these privileges, and even if we haven’t earned them are we not allowed to take full advantage of them, like standing upon the shoulders of our forefathers (and mothers)?
Is it alright then to lack the gratitude and appreciation of all the good things we have in our lives, to act like spoiled jaded juveniles and pout and sulk when the sweat hits our brow and we feel the pressure pile on from all those overwhelming tasks that life throws at us? Wait, I have to pay bills now? Life insurance premium payments, what horrible beast is that? Why can I not slay it with a sword?
Our modern economic system is built upon preying upon the unwary and uninitiated, with subscription fees to staying alive, and endless inflation and convenience fees and forms to fill. At some point we become powerless to have our voice heard or feel like we have any impact or sway in our own lives, and all we can do is feel a deep sense of unrest and dissatisfaction, shackled as we have become by subscribing to society’s needs and wants and social etiquette and not kicking up a fuss when the officer is giving you a ticket for trivial things like taking your socks off in public.
Modern problems require modern solutions. What can we do about our modern life dysmorphia? How do we become less spoiled, if that is even possible, sluggish and slovenly as we are upon our pillows of comfort and support?
Unlike the industrious insects that crawl beneath us, it would appear that us mammals are given to lazing around and it’s in our nature to recline in shade and siesta as the sun scorches down upon our boiling ball of fetid matter. Is that so delicately abhorrent? My cat lazes around all day and I still adore her for it.
To say my cat is spoiled would be an understatement, but no matter how many times I tell it to her face, she appears unfazed. I strongly doubt my cat suffers from life dysmorphia, dashing back and form and doing her own thing as she pleases.
Have we done something so right that we can spend our days sitting around complaining about the weather and feelings and temperature of our coffee? Or are we undergoing something so poignantly wrong that some inevitable course correction is coming for our civilisation? Some crazy collapse and crunch under the weight of a black hole for all of our sins?
