If you describe something as going from the sublime to the ridiculous, you mean that it involves a change from something very good or serious to something silly or unimportant. Kind of describes our world today. It is not new. Thomas Paine used it in the Age of Reason: “One step above sublime is the ridiculous.”

Another way to put it is sublime is a feeling of awe,euphoria, out of an out-of-this-world type of thing. You see an incredible sunset along the shore. You listen to music that just lights you up. You see a child or old man and you feel all sorts of emotion from joy to sorrow.

Ridiculous is more of a puzzlement, disbelief, absurdity that no matter how hard you try, you cannot make sense of. People say stupid things in the middle of a poignant moment. In the vernacular, it is more like WTF?

I read a column in the New York Times this AM. It had to do with the lack of desire for the milenials to have children. It could be money,one’s career, age but this seemed to gravitate towards their upbringing. Yikes!

It seems that all their anxiety, depression or crappy attitude towards life was a result of their potty training or the lack of attention from their parents. It could also be a mean sibling. I had an older brother whom I swore was one of the original Al-Qaeda cohorts from his brand of torture. Probably didn’t feel all that great, but is this a reason not to have children?

I quiz my kids as to whether we were too strict or harsh in grounding them or giving them curfews. They laugh and say they probably deserved it. Can you not look at your kids or grandkids and feel an immense pride in who they are and what they have accomplished? Could you in any way say you wish you had not brought them into the world?

Our world is bipolar. We constantly try to be perfect at this or that. There is always one more peak to climb. Part of this is a desire for achievement and recognition. Part of it is just sick. If you think you are the first to try to make sense out of your surroundings, think again. Plato, Socrates, Kant, and Camus have been down this road without much success. And yet we keep trying. 

The sublime to me is when I just kick back and look around me. This is not the disease of old age or too much time. It is just plain and simple reverie. Forget about how big your house is or how cool your car is. Look at a piece of furniture and figure out how many pieces there are and where they came from. How many different people from all over the globe had a part in making it? Sorry, the Donald is going to change all that last part. Absurd? Maybe. 

I do try to make sense of all this. I look for the common denominator. What is going to tie this all together? The fact of the matter is, this calliope plays a different kind of tune for all of us. You and I see different shades of green. Different colors of red. We all want to fit in and be part of something. We seek fame and fortune and compare ourselves to others. Yet the biggest part of belonging is that we are all incredibly different. 

I love reaching out to people. Some respond and some don’t. I like to recognize them. If I am in Publix, I look at their ID and call them by name. I like to hear about them. I am probably the anti-Christ of the Progressive insurance commercial, where the guy is trying to teach people not to be like their parents. My father taught me to say hello to everyone to make sure I never thought I was better than someone else. Ridiculous? I hope not.

The sublime is seeing someone smile back. I cringe every time His Hairness speaks. He is trashing some person, institution, or belief, whether it is a head of state or a member of the court. He likes to make fun of them. Put them on the defensive. Sure, his cost-cutting makes sense, but does his lying and ill will have to be accepted also? Maybe that is his sublime? Who knows?

People of all shapes and sizes are fraught with anxiety today. Believe me, if you really think about it, there are reasons aplenty. By the same token, there is so much good. Think of the world as a physical place. It really hasn’t changed for millennia. It is how we view it and react to it that shapes our psyches and way of life. It’s the old, half empty,half full deal but it really is true. There is so much out there 

I am not a psychologist by any stretch. I do try to find what works. I am at my best when I am myself, warts and all. Yes, I piss some people off. But I do cause some others to laugh or smile. Just like you, I am just another schmuck trying to make my way in the world. What a wonderful world that is. Just thinking about that is my sublime, no matter how ridiculous that may appear to you. 

As always,

Ted The Great

Factoids;

Ridiculous could be a form of alternate reality. 9/11 was a hoax. We did not land onthe moon. It was all done on a sound stage.  January 6 was just a bunch of unruly tourists. You really didn’t commit a crime so I am going to pardon you. Murder, theft, tax evasion are just figments of one’s imagination. Really?

.The sublime can be seen as a psychological state involving feelings of awe, wonder, and even a sense of one’s own insignificance in the face of something greater. 

Sublime can be experiencing a hurricane, a starry night, or a volcano. It provokes a feeling of awe. It could be just the waves crashing on shore or a sunrise. All very cool in their own right. 

The word “sublime” originates from the Latin word “sublīmis,” meaning “lofty,” “elevated,” or “raised up.”

The word “ridiculous” originates from the Latin word “ridiculus,” meaning “laughable” or “that which excites laughter”.