Your Suffering Will Be Bathed In Light

Life is a tedious dialog in which Death always has the final word, but much of the small talk in between concerns the weather. The next few days will be grey and dull, which is both seasonally and emotionally appropriate. Consider the age: certitudes dashed, confidence destroyed, ideals gladly forsaken for the cheap illusion of compromise in which the only winners are those who have already been rewarded with the greatest benefit. Consider the mood: mental and physical cruelties inflicted on the most vulnerable without remorse, anger and cynicism wrapped so tightly together that they become indistinguishable from each other, loneliness and despair so pervasive that they have supplanted even apathy and greed as our default internal settings. Consider the endless parade of degradation and infantilization produced to further pacify a glassy-eyed nation: televised obesity contests, Katy Perry, lollipops made out of birthday cake. Where you were once at least energized by your fear of failure, the best you can do now is reassure yourself that at least it can’t get worse, an empty promise even more damaging for its patent falsehood. Night, once filled with mystery and potential and the exotic hint of danger, now brings the only bit of joy you can muster up, allowing you to close your eyes and free yourself from the terrible burden of consciousness, however fitfully. Darkness is the sole comfort that remains. I’m sorry to heap more bad news on your already ample pile of pain, but soon there will be even more light in your life: Daylight Saving Time starts this weekend. Don’t forget to change your clocks.

Photo by James Cridland, from Flickr.