Oxford University annually releases a list of new and popular words, and for 2024, brain rot was the word of the year. When I read the dictionary definition and the publisher’s commentary on it, I knew that I had to write a reflection because it highlights a lot of our current social challenges. Imagine how bad and destructive this behavior must be to officially be identified and defined by the academic circle! Nonetheless, I would like to reflect not only on the issue of brain rot but on the actual virtue of joy as a way to overcome this destructive personal and social behavior.
Per the Oxford University Dictionary,
Brain rot: (n.) Supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as a result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging. Also: something characterized as likely to lead to such deterioration.
Furthermore, Casper Grathwohl, the President of Oxford Languages, wrote a commentary:
Looking back at the Oxford Word of the Year over the past two decades, you can see society’s growing preoccupation with how our virtual lives are evolving, the way internet culture is permeating so much of who we are and what we talk about. Last year’s winning word, ‘rizz’, was an interesting example of how language is increasingly formed, shaped, and shared within online communities.
‘Brain rot’ speaks to one of the perceived dangers of virtual life, and how we are using our free time. It feels like a rightful next chapter in the cultural conversation about humanity and technology. It’s not surprising that so many voters embraced the term, endorsing it as our choice this year.
The word itself was first recorded in 1854 by Henri David Thoreau but was rarely used in the nineteenth century. In recent years, social media influencers have begun to use it more, thus becoming more prevalent and prominent among online circles and social media users.
Addiction is not just geared toward a harmful substance but also includes what consumes our time, effort, energy, and psychological well-being. The overconsumption of hedonistic materials, worldly noises, and shallow materials, as well as their addictive messages, vain glories, and self-centered agendas, will leave us destructively unhappy. The pursuit of humanistic happiness is futile and destructive because it can never really be achieved! Vanities and everchanging wants will always make us feel like we never have enough, thus becoming envious, jealous, and pitiful as we wish we should have more because other people seem to have what we do not possess at this moment. We want things to go perfectly our way and make us feel better about ourselves, but nothing really satisfies because our soul is shallow, vain, and does not know what it really wants because we keep looking elsewhere to be happy, to occupy our time, or to run away from the deeper questions.
There are so many people who are living around the world who have very little and wish for what we have now, they are trying to hustle and make it through each day, but they do not give up. They have come to accept that life is imperfect, society is not always fair, and we do not always get what we want and might get hurt along the way, but that does not mean that life is not worth living! Those who have little have come to accept that life is hard but it is not joyless and miserable. They have taught us many valuable lessons that, no matter what, we can still choose to live and push ourselves to go beyond the chaos and whatever else is challenging in front of us. Each and every day, we can all personally wake up and choose to live, survive, and push ourselves to see how much life is worth living and the blessings that are interwoven in between the storms. True joy comes from knowing who we are, who we belong to, and why it is worth living beyond the vanities, fleeting happiness, and egocentric wants.
Too oftentimes, we have many people who have well-intended thoughts and desires but they never really make any commitments to activate, will, and put into practice those intentions. As a matter of fact, the willingness to discern and act upon right, truthful, and well-intended desires is important in our very own life of Christian discipleship and spiritual journey. We have to put into practice what we believe, learned, and been taught through the life of prayer and worship. When we put into action our intentions, they become formative behaviors. They will be challenging and hard at first, and we will want to give up at times, too, but life-giving behaviors push us to go beyond ourselves, our hedonism, and our desire to be in control.
Behaviors have more traction when we put them into practice every day. Just like those men who had to push themselves to wake up early each morning, we need to put into practice willful disciplines. Even though there will be days that we get tired, bogged down, distracted, to do not want to do what is asked of us, habit-forming intentions and daily disciplinary practices help us to be grounded on our duties and responsibilities. We can also speak of prayer in the same way! We pray not because we feel like it, but we practice faithfulness to our prayer life and spiritual disciplines because they keep us grounded in Him, focused on the straight and narrow road, and persevere until the final destination.
Life is not about running fast, checking things on the list, and achieving more stuff. It should not only be filled with envy, jealousy, and finding ways to go against others and get our way at all costs. If that is the case, why do so many people have midlife crises and become more depressed, anxious, and worried each day? Why do we, especially as Americans, have so much more than many people around the world still feel like we do not have enough? Why are we living in such a blessed and prosperous country still feel miserable when so many people are willing to trade our places for just a moment in life? Why do we have more things but do not have any real understanding of our purpose, meaning, and quality of life?
There is no greater calling than Jesus’ call to discipleship. It is a calling that requires nothing less than our entire lives. But as all-encompassing as this call is, it is also the most fulfilling call we will ever receive. It is hard and not for the faint-hearted, spectators, or by-standing crowd members because He is inviting us to be His disciples. He knows how much we want to follow Him, and He also knows how much we continue to struggle with our own everyday conflicts and trials. He sees and understands, and that is why, day after day, He offers to walk with us and offer us His grace. He promises all of His love, compassion, and grace to help us because this is a lifetime journey toward our heavenly homeland.
To abide means to find our home, to make our place of belonging and abode, with the Lord. It is much more than a physical place or building, not just a place of refuge and rest from our human labors, but a source of consolation, strength, and restoration for us. It is a place where we are fed and nourished by His loving presence — even at times when we do not recognize Him — when we choose to return home to Him. He is truly our refuge from the storms of life, our refreshment when we are anxious and feeling worn thin, and our source of inner nourishment when we are beaten down, emptied, and weakened by this world’s trials and hardships. We are called to abide in Jesus be He abides in us! Even in our darkest times, He continues to be present and nourishes us with His love if we keep coming to Him.
Even if we feel like we have been abandoned, rejected, isolated, and pushed away by others, He sees us and never takes His eyes off us. Therefore, when our hearts are troubled or rejoicing, never stop coming to Him because He desires to love us in the unpretentious and simplest of ways. Therefore, let us not give up and give into thinking that we are not loved, all alone, rejected, and abandoned by all when we are going through hardships, trials, facing pains and sufferings because darkness is never the definitive end of our spiritual journey. Let us keep focused on fulfilling our spiritual discipline and never stop coming to Him, knowing that He is always there and will give us sufficient grace to overcome the ups and downs of life.
I promise you that we will have to shed tears at times and give long sighs because things are hard, but none of that will ever go unnoticed because all of that is part of our prayer life and spiritual discipline. There will be stormy chapters just as there are sunny days. There will be highs and lows, consolations and desolations, but all those are parts of life that can make our faith more loyal, our hope stronger, and our desire for holiness more ardent, practical, intimate, personal, and life-giving. The rewards He has given to those who are faithful to Him have always been qualitative and beyond what this world could ever vainly imagined or emptily promised. Therefore, let us be focused and persevere as we practice consistent, daily, and self-giving love, especially in seeking true joy so our hearts become more stretched, expanded, and deepened to receive the richness of His love for us.
I Thirst (John 19:28) with Father Khoi 