Are We Really Languishing? An Invitation to Dolce Far Niente
In his New York Times op-ed, There’s a Name for the Blah You’re Feeling: It’s Called Languishing, psychologist Adam Grant makes the case that on our pandemic odyssey we’ve moved from acute anguishing to long-haul languishing. Languishing, “the neglected middle child of mental health, can dull your motivation and focus and it may be the dominant emotion of 2021.” He goes on to characterize it as “the void between depression and flourishing — the absence of well-being. You don’t have symptoms of mental illness, but you’re not the picture of mental health either. You’re not functioning at full capacity.” In his eyes what grief was to 2020, languishing is to 2021.
This piece flew around the interwebs, the “it” share for a few weeks in April. I remember reading it and having an alternative perspective on the state and future of our collective consciousness. Fittingly, I started writing this piece back then and it sat languishing — or perhaps, as I prefer to see it, ripening — in my Drafts folder until now.
Languishing brings to mind languid and languor, etymological kin with less pejorative meanings that are among my favorite words. Gooey and unguent, sensual and slow, they feel warm and sweet in my mouth and remind me of molasses and novels set in the Deep South in summertime. They bring a wistful nostalgia for the…
