FOMO to JOMO: the Joy of Missing Out
I recorded this three years ago in November of 2021, when the world was opening back up and social again became an obligation. From recent memes, it seems JOMO is catching, perhaps even viral:
Is a sniffle still enough to get you out of any holiday tradition that doesn’t give you joy? Remember when a slight tickle in your throat was a get-out-of-jail-free card to politely refuse company? Now that we're back in the whirled wind of the frenzy, remember that it's a choice to share your precious time. On the original video I wrote:
Do you miss the slowed-down pace of sequestering and self-care? I feel you. In this episode I explore wasted time, and whether there is such a thing. I look at reading for power and the art of the good excuse. Along with social obligations, I look at political activism and whether we're dealing with a runaway train. An elastic concept of time and an imaginative sense of purpose are proposed as ways of keeping the sanity we gained in the pandemic, contrary to their intentions.
My answer: the opposite of what we think. While romance is exclusivity, love is indiscriminate—the spiritual slut. I talk about love as non-judgment, newborn mind, and fear, guilt and blame as the unwholly trinity. I advise to guard your loneliness like a dragon's treasure and why the internet is a repository of loneliness. I end with A Course in Miracles on the Wholly Instant and the special relationship.
As world events spin out of control, I suggest we slow down. The faster we run, the further the goal moves away. I tell a story about nick-of-time miracles and permaculture spirituality. I look at empire vs. sovereignty and means vs. ends. I compare time to a hamster wheel. As things spin into control, I suggest we bide our time while spirit does the heavy lifting.
I begin this video with the story of my daughter's wedding, which I'm taking as an omen for the community we're going to build when the empire crumbles. Then I read my poem on the double bind of being a Cassandra during these troubled times, and my vision for how it's all going to turn around.
I think I might have seen this video before, but still nice to revisit. I love the notion of JOMO. When I was 15 I started sneaking into night clubs with a fake ID. By the time I was or age to actually go, I had zero interest in that meat market. My friends would spent all of their time on Friday and Saturday nights preparing and going and I’d be curled with a good book or a movie. Or I did theatre! lol.
I had a baby in 2019. I was already in nesting and incubating mode when the world shut down. I thought, ooo, lookie here, folks are doing my lifestyle and calling it pandemic. 😂
Ive had so much excitement for a few lifetimes. Really prefer good conversations and quiet times now. And gosh, if I get an hour or two of solo time, it’s heaven! All about the JOMO, sister!
Ooh, I like this: "bide our time while spirit does the heavy lifting." You've mentioned this before to me when I've agonized over "What am I doing?? Is it enough???" and now that I have the sniffles, I'm listening. 😂