Coming out of goblin mode
In The Times this week Alice Thomson writes that “In many ways we seem to have given up on 2022 and fallen into apathy, as though we have all received a terminal diagnosis. Everything feels grim and desperate: our homes too cold, the weather dire, war and pestilence sweeping the globe in a doom loop.”
How right she is and how well this encapsulates the ongoing state of Permacrisis we all find ourselves in. “Goblin mode”, one of Oxford University Press’s three ‘words of the year’, is apparently “used by the young to refer to the condition of giving up and slobbing out, embracing self-indulgence and forgoing discipline.” More akin to ‘opting out’ out of a sense of hopelessness and despair, it is the polar opposite of trying to better yourself. And, at the moment, ‘goblin mode’ is not just limited to the young.
History shows us that too much sybaritic pleasure never did anyone any good. In the end it can take us to a small dark alleyway in the mind from which it can be difficult to return.
Working out how to come out of ‘goblin mode’ has distinct parallels with the question: what is the meaning of life? How can we find happiness, meaning and a sense of purpose during our short time on this planet? The classic answer is ‘to love and be loved’. But my thought for the day is … kindness.
I phoned Vodafone today as I had an issue with my mobile contract. I must admit, I was expecting to wait for hours on the line, going round and round in ever decreasing circles. It’s happened before. But today I met Abdul, all the way over in Egypt, who was simply one of the kindest men I have ever met. While he was dealing with my contract, we talked, and I mean really talked, about the state of permanent crisis the world is in, the ‘doom loop’ that so many of us experience every day. Abdul clearly does not have an easy life but he has formulated a self-management system based on … kindness to others. In his life, being kind to others, being sensitive to others, noticing and responding to little notes of sadness and tension in a voice thousands of miles away, has become his purpose in life, something that gives him meaning and satisfaction. I have rarely encountered such a genuine and unsought beacon of kindness and friendship: it was a beautiful thing.
True kindness is a rare commodity and when you meet it, it feels as though the sun shines brightly in the sky and the air is warm around you. It’s inspiring, cheering and energising: a solid respite from ‘goblin mode’ and perhaps a way out of it altogether. Let’s have much more of it.