Tag: words

zielschmerz – n.  the dread of pursuing a lifelong dream, which requires you to put your true abilities out there to be tested on the open savannah, no longer protected inside the terrerium of hopes and delusions that you started up in kindergarten and kept selaed as long as you could.

I don’t know I have any lifelong dreams, much less zielschmerz. I used to want to play professional sports, but that lifelong dream died a long time ago when I realized pursuing it wasn’t realistic.

I have enjoyed life and worked to grow my career, skills, and enjoyment in different ways. However, I am more a take things are they come and constantly re-evaluate what I want and need more than having a dream.

However, you can pursue a lifelong dream, which might not include being tested on the savannahs, but it might be tested in the real world. My wife changed careers to work with horses, taking a leap that she could actually earn enough to have that be a viable career. It’s been nearly 12 years now and she’s made it a success, though I know she had a lot of trepidation and anxiety in making the leap and growing her business.

Hopefully there is no more zielschmerz these days for her.

From the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

funkenzwangsborstellung – n.  the primal trance of watching a campfire in the dark.

I am not a big camper, but 3-4 times a year we usually go out with horses. Usually my wife rides and I relax, play guitar, and cook. Often we do build a campfire if the area isn’t under restrictions, and it’s nice to sit and stare into the fire.

I don’t know what it’s relaxing, but I do enjoy the funkenzwangborstellung.

From the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

gobo – n.  the delerium of having spent all day in an aesthetic frame of mind, taking photos across the city, getting lost in an art museum – which infuses the world with an aura of meaning, until every crack in the wall becomes a commitment to naturalism, and every rainbow swirling in a puddle feels like a choice.

I wish I could get lost in an art museum, but it’s not my thing. I can enjoy them for a bit, and I like having various Van Gogh paintings as a part of my wallpaper, but only for a bit. I do, however, enjoy spending a few hours wandering a city, taking pictures, and enjoying the world for what it is. My wife and I do this more often than hitting tourist attractions when we travel. Instead enjoying life in another place as it exists during a normal day for many others.

I do try to stop and enjoy the world I see, big things and small, as I go through life. I rarely spend all day doing anything, but I do enjoy the moments when I can.

From the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

harmonoia – n. an itchy sense of dread when life feels just a hint too peaceful – when everyone seems to get along suspiciously well, with an eerie stillness that makes you want to brace for the inevitable collapse, or burn it down yourself.

I don’t want to burn things down, but I do like a little chaos in my life. I struggle to sit still and when things go too well, I worry about what will go wrong.

It’s funny, but so much goes well in my life. I find great weather traveling, I get upgraded on flights or in hotels, events go smoothly, it’s somewhat amazing. I stop and think about this and appreciate the things that go well.

However, sometimes life has gone a bit too well and I do think that something bad, or relatively bad, is likely to happen. I have no good reason, but I think harmonoia is something many people feel and it’s a good combination of harmony and paranoia.

From the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows