The Trivial & The Essential

Considering the elements of This Nice Life

Something I’ve been thinking about a-lot, the trivial and the essential. Not necessarily in those exact terms, but thematically this is what’s been on my mind of late. If I had to venture as a guess as to the reason why, I’d point to the season. There’s just something clarifying about late Spring, the days getting longer and Summer plans coming into focus. Balance in day-to-day life seems to come easier this time of year. Prioritize the essential too much and you’ll become a stick-in-the-mud. Indulge excessively in the trivial and you’ll quickly become a bore, both to yourself and those close to you.

So, how is one to go about finding, let alone maintaining, this all important balance? It certainly helps to have good people in your life who will give you the friendliest of reminders of when you’re out of step. However it’s nobody’s responsibility but your own to find stasis. If you want to make this easier, a great place to start is with your information intake and overall media diet. Michael Williams recently wrote a wonderful piece on over at A Continuous Lean that sums things up quite nicely.

We used to have one Twitter, and now we have four of them. We used to have a real timeline filled with interesting people; now we have armies of failed mortgage brokers running engagement farms set to level 10 vague posting. - MW

Where that quote takes me is to another topic that pops into my head more than I’d like, polarization. I’m not talking about political polarization, although that’s certainly part of the bigger picture. I’m talking about the polarization of thought that has somehow burrowed its way into nearly all genres of media. Among the many effects I see from this is people dealing in absolutes far too often. I’m not saying everyone needs to be the very definition of a renaissance man, but having a variety of interests and pursuits that you’re passionate about tends to go a long way in keeping apathy and nihilism at bay. It also makes finding common ground more likely.

This is where the trivial and the essential come into play. People will have varied opinions on what can be categorized under each heading, but there are some cornerstones on which I think we can all agree. For example, time to let your mind wander, that’s essential. Tailor made suits from Saville Row, trivial. However, if all you do is daydream you’re not going to accomplish much. Of the same token, if all you do is fetishize clothing, well, remember what I said earlier about being a bore?

In addition to having good people around and a healthy media diet, the other key to finding balance, so far as I can tell, is self-awareness. With that comes the ability to read a room, to understand a broader moment and to grasp cultural perspectives. As an added bonus, you’ll know when you’re skewing towards the trivial or the essential. Spending a little too much time espousing the virtues of collecting vintage cigar lighters to friends who just want to enjoy a smoke on the golf course? Yeah, self-awareness can fix that. Perhaps after sitting down to a nice dinner out you’re compelled to share with the table that you’ve been eating clean for a few months and are “off sugar”. Once again, a little self-awareness goes a long way.

I should say that I’m smitten with the idea of the trivial and essential underpinning the way we live our lives. Not only that, but I feel that it embodies my longterm vision for This Nice Life, whatever form it takes. The slogan I came up with for the original blog was “From Mountains to Metropolis” and I think there’s a great deal of overlap there with the idea of the trivial and the essential. For some, nature is the latter and cities the former. To others, it’s vice-versa.

As for myself, it’s a moving target. There are days when I can’t imagine anywhere I’d rather be than in a field sitting on a blanket with no cell service, while others I’d be most at peace strolling a city sidewalk for hours on end. It’s hardboiled eggs and a smoothie for breakfast, but a dirty martini, caviar and Japanese A-5 wagyu for lunch. I revel in juxtaposition and find the most interesting people do too. Within the context of This Nice Life, I’d just as soon recommend splurging for a hotel room with a terrace, as I would skipping the trendy restaurants nearby in favor of going to the local market, getting sundries and bringing them back to enjoy with the view. If you can appreciate that sometimes a car is just a car, and others it’s the rolling embodiment of human ingenuity for a particular era, you’ll be a much happier person. That is to say, take your interests seriously, but don’t be too serious about your interests. I think about this every time I try on an expensive vintage watch, order yet another pair of loafers or delve into modifying one of my vehicles. I also think about it when I’m getting ready for a run, trying a new recipe or starting a new project. Whether trivial or essential, whatever it is, in the end, it should be enjoyable to you.

Cheers,

-Andrew