The Void

In his rambling, self-indulgent, trivial and ultimately brilliant diary; A Year with Swollen Appendices, Brian Eno describes his “into the void” process. This is a period in which self-loathing and ennui overwhelms us – we retreat from the world and wallow in our misery.

Eno’s strategy involves succumbing completely to this misery. All of our plans and schemes and petty attempts to change our lives swirl into a murky cloud of doubt and apathy. When you’ve hit bottom and begun to claw further down, you suddenly…stop. You have become so bored with self-examination you simply shake yourself off and go have a nice lunch.

This is an extremely effective strategy and you should go and buy this damn book and read it once a year.

Sometimes I need to lie low until my life passes by.