The Antithesis of Ennui

I'm currently re-reading John Senior's the death of Christian Culture. For anyone who hasn't read it, I definitely encourage you to pick it up since Senior has a true mastery of contemporary thought (well, somewhat contemporary, the book was first published in 1978). Among the many topics that Senior tackles in his book is the subject of ennui. Very early on (which tells you how far I've gotten through it so far) Senior identifies ennui as one of the key characteristics of the modern age.

Indeed, it seems this boredom with the world is everywhere we look, and not just in the non-Catholic circles. So many people today seem to have a "weariness" or, as Senior describes it, a "nausea" when it comes to life. I know that I experience this. There are days where I feel like doing the same old thing is just tiresome. Working, doing dishes, paying bills, it all seems to take its toll. I look back at my college days, filled with so little responsibility and so much fun, and I think, "Wow, being fully grown-up now is boring."

Of course, this isn't what I really think of my life. Starting a family has been the greatest thing to ever happen to me. It's a constant source of joy and thanksgiving. But it struck me as I was reading Senior's work that the antithesis to ennui was exactly what I find in my family: the joys of day to day life. Ennui is rooted in a disgust of being, in a disgust of existence. But most especially, it seems to be a disgust in the every day existence. The ennui-infected modern age flees from the every day to look for the extraordinary. It is in constant search of the new and exciting experience.

True joy, though, is not found in life's new and fleeting experiences, but is found rather in the living out of the daily experience. All the things that matter most to us - God, Church, family, friends, community - are experienced mostly in daily living. An archetype for truly human and Christian daily living is found in the "hidden" years of Christ's life. For 30 years Jesus lived, worked, loved, and prayed the daily life. Our Savior spent this time rejoicing in creation, rejoicing in the ordinary. These years of Our Savior's life were the complete antithesis to ennui and to the resulting perpetual search for the new. He spent such a large portion of his life doing his daily duty, and we can hardly think that this time was wasted. I, at least, am often tempted to think these years were purely a preparation, like he was in a waiting room for 30 years before beginning his public ministry. No, he must have truly lived out human existence during this time.

I think its important to remember this. I know it is for me - doing many of the same things day in and day out. Our Lord's first 30 years of life remind me that I need to cultivate this spirit of joy in the everyday. I have my moments where I believe I do in fact accomplish this, but this type of living is something that is a continual commitment. Indeed, I think it has to be a daily commitment, one that is rooted in a relationship with Jesus Christ. All of us Catholics, myself especially, need to live in that house in Nazareth on a day to day basis. This truly Christian life is so very opposed to ennui.