Surviving Ennui

I’ve been at home now for three full days and I’m finding it a bit tedious.  Just how many games of Angry Birds Pop can one endure?  As I began my third crossword puzzle today I came across a word that captured my interest.  Words always fascinate me so when I’m reading or doing crosswords and come across a word I’m not familiar with, I’ll stop what I’m doing and look it up.  I’ll go to several dictionary sources to find variances in definition; read about its origins and usages; and listen to pronunciations.  Finally, if I’m really interested in my new discovery, I’ll work it into sentences and writings to reinforce it into my vocabulary.

Today’s word of the day as you might guess is “ennui” which is a feeling of boredom and weariness.  Yes, the coronavirus stay-sheltered approach is generating a feeling of “ennui” throughout the country.  At least it is with me. It may lead to a morass of despair if we are not careful, but that’s a different issue.

The main thing that caught my attention with “ennui” that resulted in a sudden inspiration to write this article is its pronunciation.  Unless you are a student of Latin or French or simply a word-nerd, it is very unlikely that this word will freely and automatically roll off your tongue. The technical pronunciation in Webster is written: /an’we/ where the e is a long sound.  What I heard when listening to a pronunciation on-line is “un-we”.

Now to my point:  What we are suddenly experiencing in our society is a sudden, unplanned “un-we”.  We have been asked and in some places ordered to separate from each other.  We are told that gatherings of greater than ten people should be avoided.  When we are together we are to practice “social-distancing” where we need to keep six-feet between us at all times.  I also read an article posted by CNBC that the virus may remain airborne after a sneeze for up to three hours.  Does that mean we need to distance ourselves for three hours from where another individual once stood?

I do not like my forced “unwe”.  I (we) need people, friends, to be with.  After only three days I am already despairing of this forced separation.  Last evening, I exchanged text messages with a dear friend who wanted to get together for a glass of wine.  My first reaction was the already ingrained fear that we should not gather together.  I expressed my fear of the dangers of doing this desired meeting.  How good it would have been to talk about how each of our families is affected by the virus and the economic shutdown.  As the wine flowed I imagine our feelings of growing ennui and despair would have been temporarily alleviated. We would have been able to bond with our shared experiences and provide each other much needed reassurance.  Instead, I chose the path of “un-we” and now I’m experiencing ennui.

It is not only boredom and listlessness that I feel.  I’m weary of the constant pounding of dreadful news.  I am torn between my desire to know everything I can about the virus and what Congress plans to do to help us in the evolving economic crisis with the overall desire to detach from a feeling of smothering hopelessness.  We need to be able to gather together to break the boredom and the growing listlessness.  

Ennui is the new danger that threatens our society.  Ennui threatens to destroy us.  The question before us now is how to survive ennui?