Let’s reduce it all to clichés, shall we? Human life, the posts tell us, is about bulking and cutting, being “a little bit religious and a little bit superstitious,” and feeling “so tired RN.” This is the sum total of our existence, the measure of us sad humanzees.
Think about bulking and cutting. We spend a lot of time oscillating between these two states. Sometimes it's literal, like when we're trying to gain muscle or lose fat.1 But it's also a metaphor for life itself. We bulk up on experiences, knowledge, and relationships, only to cut away the excess when it becomes too much. We grow and prune, build up and break down. This cycle defines much of what we do.
When you're bulking, you're in a state of expansion. You're accumulating things, whether it's skills, possessions, or connections. You're in a phase of growth, of adding to your life. This can be exciting and fulfilling. It's about possibilities and potential. You feel like you're moving forward, building something. But bulking has its downsides too. There's a tendency to overdo it, to take on too much, to become overwhelmed by the sheer volume of what's in your life.
Cutting is the flip side. It's about reduction, about simplifying. After a period of bulking, cutting is often necessary to restore balance. You get rid of what's unnecessary, pare down to what's essential. This can be a time of clarity and focus. You see what's really important, what truly matters. But cutting can also be painful. It means letting go, sometimes of things you've grown attached to. It's about facing the reality that you can't have or do everything.
Then there's being “a little bit religious and a little bit superstitious.” Even if you don't go to church or read horoscopes, these tendencies are hardwired into us. We believe we can discern nonexistent patterns, reasons behind the randomness. We knock on wood, avoid walking under ladders, or believe in karma. These small acts give us a sense of control in an unpredictable world. They're not rational, but they help most of us navigate our lives.
Religion and superstition serve as coping mechanisms. They offer just-so explanations for the inexplicable, comfort in times of uncertainty. Even the most rational among us often find ourselves engaging in these behaviors.2 It's a way of making sense of the world, of finding meaning in the chaos. When something good happens, we might thank a higher power. When something bad happens, we look for reasons, for something we might have done wrong.
This doesn't mean we're all deeply religious or superstitious, but rather that these elements creep into our lives in small ways. Maybe you have a lucky charm, or a ritual you perform before a big event. These things might seem trivial, but they can provide a sense of stability, a feeling that there's order in the universe.
And feeling “so tired RN”…well, that’s just the universal state of being. We're constantly juggling responsibilities, dreams, and distractions.3 The modern world seemingly demands so much from us4 that feeling exhausted is almost a baseline. It's a shared experience, a common ground that unites us. We complain about it, we laugh about it, and we push through it.
This constant state of tiredness is a reflection of our busy lives. Many of us still have jobs, families, social obligations, and personal goals. We're always on the go, always connected, always doing something…“it gets late early out there, I’ve got kids.” This can be exhilarating, but it's also exhausting. We're rarely able to just stop and rest. Even our downtime is often filled with activities, with things we feel we should be doing.
In many ways, this tiredness is a badge of honor. It shows that we're active, that we're engaged with the world. But it's also a sign that we might be overdoing it, that we need to slow down and take care of ourselves. The challenge is finding the balance, knowing when to push forward and when to pull back.
Knowing that everyone else is going through the same cycles makes it easier to bear up under the unbearable. We're all just trying to make sense of things, to find balance, and to keep going despite feeling “so tired RN.”
What's the point of all this? Maybe there isn't one, or maybe it's just to remind ourselves that we're all in this together. That our lives, with all their bulking, cutting, and tiredness, are shared sentiments. And in that shared exercise of “doing the work,” we find a soupçon of meaning, a little bit of connection.
So next time you're feeling overwhelmed by the need to bulk up your life or cut it down to size,5 remember that you're not alone and you’ll never be finished until life is finished with you. We're all trying to muddle through. It's part and parcel of the human experience, which will be over in due time — meaning the time that’s been vouchsafed to you to have the time of yor life. And maybe, just maybe, that's enough.6
Usually we’re doing both at the same time, or neither.
Perhaps even gooning/edging while posting, working the phone hand (PH) and goon hand (GH) in concert.
But not really: It asks only that we live and die, in that order.
e.g., when someone is selling you a book or program designed to “cultivate mass” or help you achieve “messy minimalism.”
“I yawned and I stretched. I sure was needing some sleep, but I guess I'm always in need of sleep like I'm always in need of food. Because my labors were mighty ones — ol' Hercules didn't know what hard work was — and what is there to do but eat and sleep? And when you're eatin' and sleepin' you don't have to fret about things you can't do nothing about. And what else is there to do but laugh an' joke?”