Welcome to Mobile Nursing LLC!

Squares are everywhere. From the way we move to how we interact with the world, everything exists to be rigidly within its parameters. A person needs to breathe between 12 to 20 breaths a minute. A heart cannot sustain a HR above 200 for more than several minutes. A brain exists to think, or else we suffer from eventual dementia. Even the pixelated world we see through our screens convince us of what we should think about, what we should discuss, what we should do. How myopic we become.

Perhaps escaping the squares we find ourselves in can prove useful, whether going through the motions, or existing just to be, we owe it to the world to be, as circular as it is, connected to what makes us human. Without that aspect, can we really be human? Is it enough to comment on a virtual post, like a picture on Instagram, or send a message on Reddit? Can we really say that we have done anything beyond just satisfying mindless gratification? That thought is not to say that we should reinvent ourselves and do something completely different—the status quo is fine as it is, if we are aware that the square exists.

To live to our full potential means to sometimes break out of that box. Like an escape the room simulation, where the purpose is to find meaning, but only with self-imposed consequences. We don’t need to know what is outside of that box to live a good life. We don’t need to think about what exists if we want to stay ignorant. We can be extremely happy without having to know about hypothetical situations. If we can appreciate this inverted Schrodinger’s Cat situation applied to our own life, we would not have to wonder—we would just know that we are both living and dying every day, which is great to know, which is sad, which is oppressive.

If the world truly was intended to be a game to stack up points or gain items, it would be more fun to play Minecraft, where we don’t have as many consequences to affect the lives of individuals, good or bad. That belief is not always the case, one might think, but that same person might have never played Minecraft in the days they had thousands of players logged in to fight imaginary wars with factions, looting and pillaging villages, and even before a final goal to defeat the ender dragon was introduced. There was no end goal to strive for, and even if there were, it was more fun to play because it was a fun game, because it was worth playing, because it was meaningful to find joy in the things we do, albeit hopefully at a professional level.

But just because we are good at certain things doesn’t mean we should continue to do only that action, only that job, only live that life. We exist in dynamically changing times, and to not continue to learn would be fatal in this harsh reality. Nobody will do anything for us—nobody will care that we even did anything—nobody would feel bad about only looking out for themselves. Who can blame them with the rising inflation of even basic necessities and endless credentialism expected by employers? Should we all just give up and forever stay square?

This question isn’t meant to say that it’s cool to be a NEET, not in education, employment, or training. There was a point in my life when I faced an existential dread of not knowing how I would survive without knowing shit, without having a job, without being skilled. I am still that way, to a lesser extent, yet I think it’s okay. Sometimes the world makes us understand it is okay to just be. We are allowed to take up space; we are allowed to breathe; we are allowed to have thoughts. The hope for me is to live without feeling constrained. I hope I can stay healthy. I hope I can be happy. I hope I can live a long life, since I decided that’s how I want to be.

Wouldn’t it be great if we all had that ability to decide for ourselves? Some people are not born with those same privileges we take for granted. See it everyday at work. People with disabilities or poor health, some who never bargained with any god to give them cancer in the next 5 years, many who are unhappy with how life treated them. Life is so unfair. How stupid. Why is it so, square?

Sometimes I feel grateful for all the things I have. I am relatively young in good physical condition. I don’t worry constantly about what the next burger will do to my cholesterol. I don’t stress over the terrible grades I had in nursing school. I am content with being there for other people. Helping people makes me feel good. It ground me to reality. I know I exist. I can help others. I do good in this world. We all need to find the squares in life and help it understand that we won’t take its bullshit anymore. Maybe one day the world won’t be so, square, and the time to start living is now.