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Is there anybody who is free from the preoccupation with the trivial in life without being obsessed and absorbed by dogma?

It seems like only a maniac could be free from the guilt that prevents people from living their lives to the fullest.

In "Tranquilization by the trivial", Søren Kierkegaard calls things like death "dreadful existential facts." He says that in order to keep our minds from dwelling on these facts, human beings will spend our lives completely preoccupied with "trivial lies", those petty importances that keep us busy. But maniacs do not need trivial lies to keep them busy, they have a "major lie," or a sustaining self-narrative (which Kierkegaard calls "a lie" and identifies with dogma).

The problem is that even these big lies do not sustain me anymore. They still make life seem meaningless to me unlike a maniac. Even after being aware of dreadful existential facts, I'm still suffering from preoccupation with trivial life (Ex: social embarrassment).

I can't master either death or life. I suffering from the drawbacks of both. Nobody can master death but what about life?

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    (1)"tranquilization by the trivial" , Soren Kierkegaard. As long as there is dreadful existential facts (Ex: Death), the human beings will be preoccupied with the trivial in order to get these facts away.
    – Themobisback
    Apr 4, 2018 at 13:22
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    Flagging for removal because this question is much too glib, and your comment does not help.
    – MichaelK
    Apr 4, 2018 at 13:29
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    (2)Maniacs do not need trivial lies to keep them busy, they have a major lie. The problem is that even these big lies (dogmas) do not sustain me anymore. They still make life meaningless to me unlike a maniac.
    – Themobisback
    Apr 4, 2018 at 13:31
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    @Themobisback This question is still one huge rambling mess. I am keeping my close vote. I also recommend you to read the help section on what kind of questions are suitable for this site, and how to write them.
    – MichaelK
    Apr 4, 2018 at 14:10
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    Since you rejected lies... maybe it's time to think about the very idea of truths?
    – rus9384
    Apr 4, 2018 at 14:11

2 Answers 2

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Jean-Paul Sartre made the following notion famous in his play Huis Clos (No Exit): "Hell is other people!" ( link )

Jesus said a similar thing: "I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings." ( Luke 16:9 NIV )

Whether your human interactions are trivial or non-trivial is a major matter of dispute, and worth your serious reflection.

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Sartre saw the answer in living authentically. Camus saw this as a confrontation with the absurd. Schopenhauer saw in experiencing the sublime a return to a more naturalistic state free of such concerns: https://existentialcomics.com/comic/18

Buddhist practice is aimed squarely at the matter. You may already have written it off as a dogma, but it is a practice. Meditation is aimed at training us to be with things as they actual are, quietening the voice of distraction and triviality, and awakening fully to our existential situation

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