Have you ever wondered what our planet will look like after you're gone? That sadness that you'll never know how history will unfold is a feeling many people experience and it has a name - Ellipsism. It's like a movie you know you'll never get to see how it ends. I guess the main appeal of science-fiction is that it supplies a possible answer, a possible ending to the movie – will our society turn full '1984'? Will the smart people of Earth set up a Foundation that will spread across galaxies? Will boarding an Enterprise starship become as routine as boarding a plane?
Do you know that feeling of annoyance you get when you're in a room where everybody is speaking and no one is listening? That is called Anecdoche. At some point, you give up trying to communicate and watch the dialogue of monologues, not even trying to make sense of what people are saying.
If you've ever felt out of place at a party, know you are not alone. Many people get that feeling, be it at a party or other social gathering – it is called Monachopsis. It is not about simply hating a party and deciding to leave, monachopsis happens when you feel that you don't belong there, yet you cannot actually leave, as you're supposed to belong with those people.
I'm sure that you've all experienced the desire/need to care less about things, it's a feeling suitably named Liberosis. The desire to free yourself from the pressures of unreasonable social expectations or work-related stress is widely spread, but relatively few people dare to act on it.
Kenopsia is that feeling you experience when you find yourself in a place usually bustling with people, but now it's empty and deserted. I've experience this strange sensation while leaving the mall after a late night movie. The stores were closed, no people rushing around, no music – it's like discovering the secret life of a place when there's no one around to disturb it. You'd never imagined that place had a life of its own without people.
Speaking of places – you know that feeling of strange quiet you get when you watch a terrible thunderstorm behind closed windows? That feeling is called Chrysalism and it means you are safe, you're protected like a butterfly still in it's pupa or chrysalis.
Another feeling related to crowded spaces is Sonder – when you realize that all the people around you have a life as complex as your own. That moment when you realize they're not extras, there to create a background to your story, but people with feelings, problems, desires just like you. And maybe they see you just as an extra in their lives.
Occhiolism is also about perspective. It is that feeling you experience when you realize that you and your myriad of problems are completely irrelevant as far as the Universe is concerned. Actually, you're less than irrelevant or insignificant. A perfect moment to experience this is when you're lying on the beach at night alone and look at the stars. Just imagine billions of stars and planets out there – you're less than an atom when compared to the vastness of the unkown world
Mauerbauertraurigkeit – I don't know how many of you would have the guts to say this long German word in public, but it defines something you might have experienced at some point in your life – the desire to push away everybody, even close friends and be left alone with whatever is bothering you. Next time it happens you might apologize for your strange behavior – 'Sorry, I'm having a Mauerbauertraurigkeit episode'. They'll probably leave you alone after that.
Rubatosis describes the sudden awareness of your heartbeat – not the pounding after a scare or strenuous exercise, just your normal heartbeat you generally ignore. When he was little, my son used to inform us with a note of concern that his heart was beating – had to reassure him it was a good thing!
Exploring little known feelings and their weird names is fun, but I was disappointed I couldn't find a word for the strange feeling I sometimes get that the earth has just made a sudden movement no one else seems notice. It occurs usually while walking down the street and there's this sudden movement – not an earthquake, rather like the Earth hitting a speed-bump in its path. All I could find is that it might be some 'paroxysmal positional vertigo', a most unsatisfactory term if you ask me. It's more like catching the Earth skipping a beat – something embarassing you won't mention to anyone else? 'It'll be our little secret!'
Have you ever experienced that? Or the feeling that, if you're not careful, you might disintegrate – quite literally – just break down in a billion atoms?
Thanks for reading
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