[ Pokhara, Nepal ]
onism – n. the frustration of being stuck in just one body, that inhabits only one place at a time, which is like standing in front of the departures screen at an airport, flickering over with strange place names like other people’s passwords, each representing one more thing you’ll never get to see before you die…
—John Koenig, the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows
The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows is a “compendium of invented words written by John Koenig. Each original definition aims to fill a hole in the language—to give a name to emotions we all might experience but don’t yet have a word for. ” For word-lovers, it’s a treasure trove of thoughtful neologisms. Not all Mr. Koenig’s attempts are linguistically compelling, but the subject matter is unerringly poignant: complex emotions, contradictory thoughts, bittersweet memories.
From this fertile nexus comes the apt and necessary “onism,” aka The Awareness of How Little of the World You’ll Experience. A lexical encapsulation of mortality, experiential finitude, and resource limitations, exacerbated by fear and self-doubt.
The Universe of Possibility is vast, the Sea of Opportunity minute and fraught and fragile–even over the course of a long life richly lived. This difference in scale amplifies the importance of each choice–the finality of its impact–giving our lives their meaning.
“…like the first explorers, sooner or later you have to contend with the blank spaces on the map. All the experiences you’ve never had. The part of you still aching to know what’s out there, wondering what you’re missing. … All the billions of doors you had to close in order to take a single step forward. All the things you haven’t done and may never get around to doing; all the risks that may or may not have been real; all the destinations you didn’t buy a ticket to; … everything you’re giving up, to be where you are right now….”
Taken together with “sonder“–the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own–you have a perfect recipe for empathy and humility.
Peace,
—Your Mongolia-bound Transglobalist
