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Zinjanthropus Pacificus's avatar

"Desperate undertone of 'let's enjoy it while we can' doesn't have to be desperate, but just about the only sensible thing you can do, i.e. to live in the moment.

Every year the Japanese Kanji Proficiency Society selects a character to represent and summarize the year. For 2022 I've selected the above character for my life. Many kanji have various meanings, and here's the definitive list for 落 'ochiru':

To fall down, to drop, to fall (e.g. rain), to sink (e.g. sun or moon), to fall onto (e.g. light or one's gaze), to be used in a certain place (e.g. money), to be omitted, to be missing, to decrease, to sink, to fail (e.g. exam or class), to lose (contest, election, etc.), to crash, to degenerate, to degrade, to fall behind, to become indecent (of a conversation), to be ruined, to go under, to fade, to come out (e.g. a stain), to come off (e.g. makeup), to be removed (e.g. illness, possessing spirit, name on a list), to fall (into someone's hands), to become someone's possession, to fall (into a trap), to fall (for a trick), to give in, to give up, to confess, to flee, to fall, to be defeated, to surrender, to come to (in the end), to end in, to fall (in love, asleep, etc.), to swoon (judo), to consent, to understand, to go down (of a website, server, etc.), to crash, to log out (of an online game, chat room, etc.), to drop out, to leave, to go offline, to die, to move to the depths,slip, omission, upshot, denouement, outcome, final result, punch line (of a joke)

My reason for selecting this is psychological survival. There's so much noise out there--who knows what's really going on in the US and elsewhere beyond the 1 km radius from my home? I used to say, "I don't care" but that comes across as a snub, when I really mean, "It's beyond my control and not worth the physical, emotional, or monetary expense." Now I can just say, "落 ochiru."

Live and be well!

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Michael K.'s avatar

Being 70 and having faced the same existential crisis in my 20’s, I propose an entertaining and simple source for the solution.

Listen to the New County genre current hit, “Buy Dirt”.

The particular line that applies,”…Do what you love but call it work”.

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