Blasé

by Jio Deslate

The word "blasé," as was explained to us, has taken on the meaning of being sophisticated. Having already experienced a lot of things, these posh people are no longer impressed or fascinated by what astounds the simple man.  We might picture them as those snooty, offhand people who make a show of their boredom with their exaggerated yawns - a seemingly desperate grasp for oxygen. An image that is apt to represent what these people really are. Lifeless. Struggling with each breath as they try to take in as much air as they possibly can. These men and women have apparently experienced everything life has to offer that there is nothing left but death for them. They are the walking dead of the real world, the monstrous zombies we must run away from lest we become one of them.

 Our daily routine has left us too busy to stop and look around. And sadly, even if we do find time we are no longer awed by the same wonders that made us so excited as kids. I guess it is natural for things to lose their sense of novelty as time goes by. It is admittedly hard to look at the world through an eager, little kid's eyes.  Boredom has become such an issue for this generation that myriad technological distractions are mass produced solely to cater to this feeling - or lack of feeling - of ours. Video games, where we can vanish into a virtual world for the real world no longer has anything interesting to offer.

 We are slowly becoming blasé ourselves and the question is how exactly do we address this issue.
One idea is to start anew. By that I mean trying to see the same things in a different light. The notion of beginning once again is refreshing. That we don’t have to feel so stuck every time. That we can opt for a new game with a fresh chance at a zombie killing spree that makes us feel so alive.  A renewed way of going through life without feeling so dead. Philosophers, as Doc G said, are perpetual beginners after all. An example we should strive to emulate.

Admittedly, though, we will probably get bored once again. To look at something we have been so accustomed to seeing as if it is something new is quite difficult. To begin again seems like such a tedious affair. And so with this I think it's best we explore another interpretation of a perpetual beginning.

Most of us in class would probably fall under the 16-21 age bracket. The typical college students with their whole lives ahead of them. Realizing how young we are it seems so ridiculous to think that we even have to renew our fascination for the world when we are very much still in the beginning. What we have seen and experienced is only a fraction of what life has to give. Of what the world has to give. And considering that this particular planet is 4 billion years old, even a hundred of our human years wouldn’t suffice to see all the marvels that have sprung up - that are still springing up - in the world. We are very much far from experiencing everything there is. The beginning is far from ending.

The sophistication blasé has been associated with is highly questionable. The irony seen in their ignorance of the immensity of life and the world is proof enough of their crude thinking. ¬¬It is quite arrogant to think that we can know and experience everything there is. For the more we know the stupider we feel for discovering the things we previously weren’t even aware of. The more we experience, the more we see there’s a lot more to experience. A humbling enlightenment that reminds us that we are just human and not mindless, monstrous, blasé zombies. Not yet at least – hopefully.