24 Overture
refuge, becomes terrifying—the yawning abyss of being. When people
are bored, they regard the moment as an empty passage of time.
External events, as well as people's sense of self, become inconsequen-
tial. The phases of life lose their intentional tension and cave in on them-
selves like a soufflé removed from the oven too soon. Routines and
habits that otherwise provide stability suddenly prove to be nothing
more than façades. Finally, the eerie scenario of boredom reveals a
moment of true feeling. When people find nothing to do with them-
selves, nothingness besets them. Against this backdrop of nothingness,
art performs its task of self-stimulation—a virtually heroic enterprise,
because people on the verge of a breakdown need to be entertained. Art
steps in as a bridge to prevent succumbing to nihilist ennui. Art helps us
live; without it, life cannot stem the onslaught of meaninglessness.
The formula of art as "flight from boredom" is rich in significance,
assuming we take boredom to be an experience of nothingness. If we
do so, however, we switch from the physiology of self-stimulation to the
metaphysics of the horror vacui Nietzsche was a virtuoso of this leap
from physics to metaphysics. He knew how to imbue his physiological
disenchantment^ with a new metaphysical magic For him everything
was ultimately colossal.
Anything can take on colossal proportions—one's own life and per-
ceptions or the world as a whole. Music is so attuned to the colossal
power that it helps us endure despite everything. Colossal power became
Nietzsche's lifelong theme.