How Can We Overcome Our Discontentment with the State of the World?

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

“While weltschmerz—literally "world pain"—may" be unpleasant, it can also spur us to change things for the better.”(Kevin Dickinson, bigthink.com)

The German word weltschmerz beautifully captures our disillusionment with the world’s current state of affairs. There’s a huge gap between our ideal world and the real world.

The word first appeared in Jean Paul’s pessimistic novel Selina (1827). The author used it to describe the pervasive disillusionment in the works of Lord Byron.

Melancholy was a dominant mood of 19th-century Romanticism. It was a reaction to the excesses of the French Revolution, the downsides of the Industrial Revolution, and the cold reasoning of the Enlightenment.

Disenchantment and despair are passive responses. We need an active response that transforms weltschmerz into a transformative tool to reform the world.

Don’t envision a perfect world

A better world is not necessarily a perfect world that doesn’t exist. Human nature is both ugly and sublime. Our goal is to moderate the ugliness and elevate the sublimeness.

Be mindful of our negativity bias

The media only draw our attention to the bad news. The good news remains hidden from view. Let’s learn about positive changes happening in the world. Let’s seek out data that tells a different story from what the news headlines scream at us.

Seek awe

Awe is a transcendental experience that diminishes our self and expands our vision of the world. We feel connected to something larger than ourselves. Awe makes us realise everything is connected to everything else. We acquire both cosmic and cosmopolitan views of the world.

Make a change

Generosity and volunteering can make a positive impact on the lives of others. We don’t need to start revolutions to change the world; we can contribute in our own little ways.

Accept weltschmerz

Pain will spur us to act, while numbness will paralyse us into inaction.

Let’s harness our mental pain and weariness about the state of the world as tools to make the world better in whatever ways we can.

Progress is the cumulative result of individual actions at the grassroots level.

A robust response rooted in rational optimism will elevate our mental pain into a tool for positive change.

Thanks for reading!