JOMO
Using this method can liberate us from all manner of socially awkward situations
It came to a head during the recent pandemic. FOMO: The Fear Of Missing Out. It caught us in its fevered web partly because we had little outside that we could do. So we parked on Social Media Beach for days at a time, wondering what everyone else was doing to pass the time, fearing they were ahead of us in some way, hearing the latest, gaining advantage, given the secret handshake.
“Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place.”
— Alice in Wonderland, the Red Queen
Now that COVID is just a lingering presence, it appears FOMO disease is still prevalent. A lot of us are still running to stay in one place. It also seems, therefore, as if many are looking for an alternative to FOMO’s grasping, enervating symptoms, and the lingering anxiety they cause. Medical science has yet to discover an effective cure for FOMO. But allow me to describe a method of recuperation that works, even if applied in small doses over many days or weeks.
The person above is enjoying this recommended cure for FOMO. Ensconced on a deserted beach, she appears to be entirely resigned to the ravages and ruin of an alternate illness called JOMO, the Joy Of Missing Out. What I’m discovering as I sit at SM Beach writing this, is that JOMO is more than a companion illness for FOMO, it’s a mentality that has applications far beyond the suffering of FOMO, and a cure for several other ailments as well.
JOMO can be ‘contracted’, for example, shortly before the wedding of a relative who happens to be a serial marry-er, someone who demates and then remates with abandon, sometimes before the gifts are unwrapped. JOMO can be cited when a friend demands your presence at a show of their Grand Canyon vacation slides. It can be an out when your attendance and attention are requested for political fundraisers, Tupperware parties, seances, book signings of self-published writer friends certain of their Pulitzer nomination, recipe sharing get togethers, and many other gatherings you’d rather have a root canal done in lieu of.
In short, what JOMO can cure is our often obsequious deference to the requests of others to help them deal with their raging FOMO! So…does this mean FOMO is contagious? Boy howdy! Worse than any pandemic, I believe. All the more reason to inoculate ourselves with a dose or three of JOMO. Here’s hoping we have no need of a booster.
Love this one, Byron! JOMO is way more satisfying if you can find it. I think Social Media Beach might be calling me…. :)
Sometimes you just have to say "No, sorry." There's a big fly-fishing exhibit and conference this entire weekend in central NJ, and I was thinking about going since some friends are presenting. But coming off bronchitis and with the heavy snow forecasted, I said, "Sorry, no can do." I'll put my feet up and watch a couple more episodes of "All Creatures Great and Small." Nice job with JOMO, my friend.