Rediscovering the Invincible Summer Within

The Journey of Life

When you're a kid, you have a lot of excitement, and you feel things very deeply. The world seems small because it's so big compared to us. And our eyes look big because they help us see everything around us. As you get older, things around you start to look bigger because you are still the same size, but some things might be a little taller or shorter than you. The world can be really confusing and hard to understand. It can feel like everything is a big mess and too complicated to figure out. This can make you feel small and unsure about yourself.

You keep going in the same direction, following the path or route you were on. You do stuff, you finish stuff, and you get stuff. But sometimes we feel a strange feeling inside us that makes us feel worried, uneasy, and really sad. And it seems like nothing can make that feeling go away. No matter what you do or how far you go, you always end up in the same spot. Sometimes, people we love pass away, which makes us feel very sad. Our hearts feel like they are breaking. We also learn that bad things can happen in life, and we start to understand that more and more. Imagine you're watching a play, and the actors on stage are the problems we face every day. But sometimes, those problems become so important that everything else around them seems less important, like a faded background.

Navigating the State of Apathy

Eventually, you figure out how to handle it. When you become numb, it means that you can't feel anything. It's like when your leg falls asleep and you can't feel it until it starts to wake up again. "Indifferent" means not caring or having no strong feelings about something. It's like when you don't really have a You make sure that nothing can really harm or bother you. It wasn't something they chose to do on purpose. You can't recall creating it, or at least you don't have any memory of doing so. Life felt painful to experience, so you naturally decided to loosen your grip on it.

Right now, there isn't really anything that makes you feel different, but you also don't feel much of anything at all. It's not exactly not caring, but it's a little different from what we usually think of as not caring. It's not exactly feeling really sad all the time. It's like something different, not exactly one thing or the other. It's kind of in the middle or outside of what we usually talk about. It's not like feeling trapped in quicksand, but more like feeling content while sitting on a pretty beach with white sand.

You can still do most things without any problems. Even though you're still able to get out of bed, do things, work towards your goals, accomplish things, and interact with the world, it feels like you're doing it without thinking too much. It's like your body is doing these things automatically, without you having to put in a lot of effort. Remember those activities that you really enjoyed doing in the past? Well, you might still do them now, but they don't give you the same happy feeling as before. Or maybe you stopped doing those things altogether, and you haven't found something else to take their place.

What you do to have fun is very, very little. You don't feel as excited about things as you used to. You don't spend as much time with friends or doing social activities as before, but you're fine with it. You can still go to different places and do fun activities, and you can also tell when things are good. But sometimes, instead of feeling it in your body, you understand it more in your mind. When we accomplish something, it doesn't always make us feel really happy for a long time. Instead, it can feel like a temporary break from feeling bad about the things we didn't do well.

The Art of Detachment and Indifference

You know how sometimes when you do something a lot, like playing a musical instrument or using tools, you can get a rough patch of skin on your hand called a callus? Well, that callus actually helps protect your hand and makes it less sensitive to pain in that area. It's kind of like a shield.

Similarly, sometimes in life, some things bother us or make us feel upset or frustrated. But if we become a little bit indifferent or do not care too much about those things, it can actually be helpful. It's like having a shield against not caring too much about the things we can't control or the things that make us feel bad. It can make life a little easier to handle. In some important schools of thought, like Stoicism, Taoism, and Buddhism, there is a main idea that says it's good to not care too much about what happens in the world. It means being able to let go of things and not get too upset or attached to them.

According to the Stoics, it's really important to understand what you have control over and what you don't. They believe that you should care about and respond to the things you can control, but not worry too much about the things you can't control, which is basically everything outside of yourself. Seneca, who was a wise philosopher, said that when we face difficult challenges and stay calm, it makes those challenges less powerful and heavy. So, if we can stay calm when bad things happen, they won't bother us as much.

In Taoism, one important idea is to stop trying to control everything by doing nothing on purpose. According to Buddhism and a similar idea in Western philosophy, life can be seen as full of suffering. But don't worry, there's a way to overcome this suffering! It's called non-attachment. This means not getting too attached to things like wanting lots of stuff or always worrying about what other people think. By letting go of these attachments, we can find peace and happiness. It's like freeing our minds from always wanting more and being content with what we have.

The Dangers of Apathy

Even if we don't agree with all of these ways of thinking or specific ideas, there is definitely some good reason to not care too much about certain things in life. But when we go too far, it creates another problem. When your hand gets really rough and bumpy from doing a lot of work, it becomes difficult to feel things with your fingers. It's like wearing gloves that make everything feel less sensitive. You can't fully enjoy the nice feeling of touching soft things like your own skin, smooth fabric, or the sand on a pretty beach.

Sometimes, we make things more complicated than they need to be. It's like building a big castle to protect ourselves when all we really need is a small shield. The pendulum is like a swing that goes back and forth. Sometimes it swings really far and makes us not care about anything. And sometimes it stops swinging completely. You know, when someone feels apathetic, it means they don't really care about things or have much interest. One of the tricky things about apathy is that it can make people not care about the bad things that can happen because of it. So, it's like not caring about not caring, which can be really dangerous.

Finding Balance and Rediscovering the Invincible Summer

But if you want to make a rough spot on your hand go away or become smaller, you need to stop doing the same thing that caused it and then wait for it to heal on its own. If you want to make yourself less tough and rough, you need to stop doing the same things over and over again and give them some time to change. This might mean making some changes in how you go about your daily life. You can make things more interesting by doing different activities, hobbies, or challenges. You can also change or get rid of activities, hobbies, or people if you want to.

Or, it means you might need to start thinking about things in a different way. It's like discovering a new set of rules or a new way of looking at the world. Or it could be a mix of both things or something different altogether. Definitely, whatever it is, it won't be simple.

The Seasons of Life

When someone feels like they don't care about anything or have lost their emotions, it can be hard for them to start caring again. It takes some effort and time to get those feelings back. But maybe Albert Camus explained it really well when he wrote, "During the coldest time of the year, I finally realized that inside me there is a strong and unstoppable feeling of warmth and happiness."

Life is like a big circle that keeps going around and around. Just like how the weather changes from spring to summer to autumn to winter, our lives also go through different seasons. Sometimes we feel happy and excited, like when it's sunny and warm outside. Other times, we might Sometimes, we can't always feel full of energy, excited, or focused on doing the right things. Sometimes, we can't always be friendly and nice to everyone. Sometimes, we can't always feel happy and full of energy. Just like how the ground covered in snow during winter can still grow plants when the seasons change, you also have the power to create new things in your life as time goes on.

You still have your own thoughts and feelings, your abilities to think and understand things, your way of seeing the world, your imagination, and your ability to change and keep going even when things are tough. If you're not here all the time, then you probably won't be here forever. Even if things change, you will be able to adjust, and everything will be alright. No matter if things are tough or if you always feel like the world is a cold place, you can still make yourself feel better and find purpose in how you see things and the choices you make. It's like finding a cozy blanket and feeling strong even when things are hard.

Maybe all we really have is a strong feeling of happiness inside us that never goes away, like a summer that can't be defeated. And maybe that's all we'll ever need to be happy.