In the movie "Shindler's List" there is a scene when a young boy in order to save himself jumps into a barrel full of human faeces. This pastel painting is my interpretation of a shot in the movie depicting the guards ransacking the so called "toilets" and the length at which some of the children went to in order to survive.
The survival instinct, commonly viewed as a an innate behaviour in most living things, and paramount to Darwin's idea of the origin of Species, what happens to that instinct if one finds oneself at "the Pointless Stage"?
("The Pointless Stage" is a term that my son recently introduced me to. Although many of us perhaps have times when we may feel that everything seems pointless, personally, I have never really thought of it as a "stage", a phase, with a beginning and an end.)
A man in consultation with a psychologist tells the psychologist that life feels pointless to him; "what's the point in trying, nobody understands me anyway, what's the point in doing all the healthy stuff, we 're all gonna die anyway, what's the point in caring, everybody just cares about themselves anyway, what's the point in overcoming obstacles, there's just gonna be new ones tomorrow," the man laments. On the way home from the consultation, the man's car breaks down. "Typical", he mutters under his breath. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a lightning bolt strikes the car. A blinding light fills the car and a tingling feeling rushes through the man's body. The event takes only a few seconds, but in those few seconds of fearing for his life, the man realises that he wants to live, that life is precious, and though some things may seem pointless, there are many things that matter.
While in the "pointless stage", often our ability to see things from different perspectives is affected:
Often it is not: some people that doesn't understand us, rather, its all the people, .....it is not: some people who doesn't seem to care, rather, nobody cares, ........it is not: that obstacles come our way now and then, rather, there are always obstacles in our way, ......it is not: doing healthy stuff makes me healthier now, rather... we are all going to die so why bother?
If we are experiencing the "pointless stage", then our perspective is often very narrow...."everything is pointless" and people suggesting that perhaps we broaden our perspective: "look at it from this perspective then perhaps you...." may be experienced as irritating and quite clueless.
Mindsets can be hard to change, but the good news is, they can be changed.
While it may be true that some people do not understand us, there are others that do if we give them a chance to.
While it may be true that we all will die eventually, until that day, why not invest some time and energy in doing and thinking things of a life-affirming nature?
While it may be true that some people don't care about others, some people do.
If you are experiencing the "pointless stage", yet still somehow, would like to get out of it, perhaps a few questions may be of assistance?
Am I viewing things as pointless because I am hurting? (I can't be hurt if I don't care)
Am I viewing things as pointless because I am scared? (If I don't try, I can't fail)
Am I viewing things as pointless because I have been let down? (If I don't hope, I can't loose hope)
Am I viewing things as pointless because I think it's too late for a change? (It's too late for me to change now, I should have done that earlier)
Am I viewing things as pointless because I don't want to change perspective? (Changing perspective can be hard work)
These are perhaps difficult questions for some of us, but having asked myself these questions many times, I have found them to be quite helpful, and my hope is that they may be useful for you too.
“Never forget that you are one of a kind. Never forget that if there weren't any need for you in all your uniqueness to be on this earth, you wouldn't be here in the first place. And never forget, no matter how overwhelming life's challenges and problems seem to be, that one person can make a difference in the world. In fact, it is always because of one person that all the changes that matter in the world come about. So be that one person.” (R. Buckminster Fuller)
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