So I have been thinking about what the topic for this week was going to be and I wasn’t sure. At first I thought I would go off of potential and talk about paralysis. But I don’t know, that seems a little too close. But your idea of going out to do some base jumping reminded me of this news story:
I wanted to talk about that in a broad way. Why is it that people want to go out and do things? What is the deal with fun anyway?
Look at what happened in that video. Bungee Jumping works, or is fun, because it is dangerous. It is thrilling because it is scary. But what could be scarier than swimming through crocodile invested water with your legs tied together? Clowns or spiders. But besides that? Not much. Yet we have bungee jumping firmly in the fun category while swimming with crocodiles is so far outside of the realm of fun that you have to drive a full day just to get there. Why should that be?
Everything fun is stupid. And I mean that in the least teenager way possible. Everything that can be classified as fun, if you look at it, is pointless and more than likely dangerous. And yet we are drawn to it. More than that, we are called by others to live this kind of romantic lifestyle. Going out and traveling and doing things like sky diving are regarded as things that everyone should do at least once. What a crock of shit. Why go to Spain to run with the bulls? What kind of empty stupid gesture is that? There is nothing to be gained from that experience other than telling the same boring story to your friends later. You aren’t made better by fun. In fact, fun can often make you a worse more condescending person.
It wouldn’t be worth talking about if fun made you happier. It doesn’t. Fun and happiness are too completely different things. Some of the most worthwhile things in this world are not fun. Raising children is not fun. It can be enjoyable from time to time but it really is usually awful, I would think. Being so wrapped up in another things safety and happiness that you suffer sleepless nights and financial hardships. Not to mention cleaning up bodily fluids and what not. Love in general is not fun. Infatuation is. Lust is. Sex is. But loving someone is not wholly fun. There is too much pain involved.
I am not anti-fun. But I think fun is a large reason we do things. It is the inspiration for so many things. We build theme parks and we come up with new ways to thrill and delight ourselves. And all of that is good and interesting. My question to you Jen is what do you think fun is? What role does fun play in your life? And do you think that fun helps us create art?
Anyway, try and have some fun today.
-James
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