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ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: The student Julia Engelmann landed a Youtube hit with a poetry slam video about the lethargy of her generation. Is she right?
: Yes, she has. But it's not just the twenty-year-olds. Our whole society looks pretty exhausted.
Why is that?
We are exhausted from the many decisions we have to make every day. Two hundred years ago, you might only have to decide twice in your life: who do I marry? What am I working on? The selection was manageable. Today, when shopping, we have a choice of 100 types of jams. In the job we move from annual contract to annual contract. We are looking for partners among thousands of international forums for forums. That costs enormous power.
b 1970, studied philosophy, literature, philosophy of religion and religious history. Today Knapp is in great demand as a philosophical consultant; she also works as a writer and cultural editor. In 2013 she published her second book "Compass new thinking" (rororo, 9,99 Euro).
But it also means freedom.
Naturally. And of course no one wants to go back to 1800's life. That's why we need to learn to recognize what it takes to spend energy. In this way we spare our strength and our motivation for the really important questions of life.
Which are they?
Those who touch our values: Do I want to have children? Which job should I choose? But also: in which world do we want to live? How should people deal with each other?
In your book Compass New Thinking, encourage readers to become more involved in world affairs. Why is that so important?
Even if we are not aware of this, our personal happiness depends on whether the community on this planet succeeds. Something like factory farming or slave-like working conditions in Asian textile factories are signs of really destructive relationships with other living things. The wealth we need is therefore a source of prosperity in successful relationships. Only when we put the relationship prosperity back on material prosperity, the web of life can recover and unfold. But it is not enough to complain to the politicians - we really have to change something in our lives.
What would that be?
As a consumer, for example, we have an incredible power. We can buy products that have been traded fairly, shared or repaired. Not only when we demonstrate, even when we do such a thing, do we interfere creatively with world events. The problem is that most people think they have to starve and insanely limit themselves. But let's face it: Actually, we're starving now because most of the stuff we buy does not make us happy in the long run. Good relationships, yes.
What consequences have you drawn from this realization?
I try to shun all manufacturers that I feel like: how they deal with their employees, but also with animals or plants, so I do not want to be treated. Triggers were the first reports of the bad working conditions at Schlecker. I was a student then and decided: I do not want to support that! So I did not buy anymore. Gradually, more and more companies came into disrepute because of their behavior towards employees or animals. So I did not shop there either. Today I boycott a lot of shops.
Sounds elaborate.
But it is not. Of course, the products are more expensive, especially as a student, so I had to learn to strategically divide my money. And sometimes it was not easy to find qualitatively equivalent alternatives. But I did not have to solve all the problems at once. Everything happened step by step. Even really great things can be done. This shows us also the hero research. For example, studies of people who supported Jews during the Nazi regime.
What can we learn from them?
How important it is to take the first step. Because it makes everything else roll. None of the helpers knew how things would turn out in the beginning. Not to mention what skills they would need. Nevertheless, at some point they decided to actually help, not just talking or thinking about it. Their skills, which we admire today, have only gradually been acquired.
That encourages. Nevertheless, this first step could plunge me into misfortune ...
... or become the best decision of your life! Whether we have decided right or wrong, we always know much later. Who guarantees you, for example, that you will not have a new boss in your dream job shortly after the start in your dream job, with whom you do not understand at all? The consequences of a decision are always unpredictable.
This is the worst.
No: That's the good!
How so?
That also means: you can not make wrong decisions! It is important that you decide at all. And then handle the consequences as well as possible. That means we have the opportunity to do well at every moment of our lives. I find that very relieving.
On the other hand, of course, you always have the feeling: "That's even better!" And that's exactly what creates tremendous pressure. , ,
However, this has nothing to do with constant self-optimization. On the contrary, if you used the amount of time that was available to make a decision in your own upright manner, then you have made it as good as possible and can relax until life presents a new challenge. But we should understand that this decision is never the end of development, but always just its beginning.
Can it sometimes be better to just wait and see?
Waiting is always good if you do not have any information at all or you have not really dealt with the accessible information. Even if we miss such a good opportunity to act, that's not bad: Only a missed opportunity gives us a sense of what would be a good opportunity for us. I call that "constructive waiting".
So knowing yourself and your needs would not be bad.
It is the prerequisite to be able to make wise decisions! Finding out what is really important to you, but it takes time. One should not deal with it first, when a big decision is pending.
Rather?
As often as the opportunity arises. Do it now and then, just like the Bremen student in the poetry slam piece that you mentioned at the beginning: Imagine that you are at the end of your life. What should the keynote speaker say about you on your 80th birthday? Take notes. And repeat the exercise regularly. As you will see, over time you will get an ever better sense of what is really important to you in life. And that does not just help you decide.
