ThirstyFish

"Who cares about anything anyway" has become one of the most assumed personal ideologies of our time. This outlook is not apathy, nor is it a form of existential nihilism, but rather a defensive way to deal with an ever-compex world. It is the evasion of concern and anxiety; A way of being indifferent without being "indifferent".

New Age spirituality and ideology - although it is not one thing - might have something to do with some of these new and inconsistent "personal ideologies". New Age holds a holistic worldview, and talks about monism, interconnectedness and compassion, and yet, divides the world into the positive and the negative. It claims that by maintaining a positive attitude towards everything, one can achieve success, heal oneself and attain personal and social change. Anything viewed as negative is to be avoided. Despite all the talk of connectedness, the focus is primarily on the self and on self-improvement.

"Positive thinking" and "focusing on oneself" can lead to a form of magical thinking and ultimately to an emotional impasse. Believing that, "If 'I' am positive, 'I' will attract or find success and attain my goals", and then "If 'I' have not achieved my goals yet, that's because 'I' am not positive enough" form a catch-22 that is extremely hard to break. The obsessive focus on oneself until the mental flow state is attained, suppresses ones ability to "care about anything" in the meantime. Rather than experience connectedness and compassion, we become more isolated and more apathetic. Of course an alternative, and arguably a healthier worldview would be to understand, accept and embrace both the positive an the negative of what life brings, and strive to incrementally better oneself and the world. And for that, we need to "care about everything"!