February Prompts for Collective Absurdity

8 prompts for when the only thing that makes sense is nonsense!

A friend told me a story about how recently, at the Cabo San Lucas airport, she watched a woman go feral when told she couldn't bring her snow globe through security.

Reader, tell me a moment more tethered to the inherent hope in humanity than an entire terminal of strangers, collectively, fully trying (and failing) not to laugh.

In the wake of World War I, the Dada movement emerged as a response to the incomprehensible horrors unfolding in real time—they rejected reason, embraced pure nonsense, found radical freedom in the surreal.

I’ve been thinking about absurdity on a smaller scale. Of the connection that comes from watching things unravel….together.

Lately, life has been seeming both too big to process and too specific to ignore. Things feel like they’re spiraling into madness and yet: my friends still text me videos of themselves being idiots in dance workout classes; or pictures of their dog wearing a fur stole; or a detailed timeline of their ex’s lifestyle pivot from financial analyst to….pickleball influencer.

This month’s prompts consider wading through the surreal and the mundane, the collective dread and private joy, the stupid and the sacred. Because nothing makes sense… but maybe that’s where the sense-making begins?

If you're new here—hiiiiii, NYT readers!—here’s how it works: read through the prompts while reflecting on the last few weeks. Write about them, talk through them at dinner, or just let them simmer. There’s no wrong way.

PS: All profits from Moon Lists paid subscriptions are donated—currently toward 1:1 support for those affected by the Los Angeles wildfires. Thanks for your care.

February Prompts for Collective Absurdity

1. THE UNRAVELING

What's something that once felt like a given...but now feels like a joke?

Maybe you always thought you'd stay in the city; maybe you assumed you'd have it together by 35. What's a certainty that's quietly (or dramatically!) come undone?


2. EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

A kind stranger. An acquaintance you’d written off too quickly. A friend who turns out to be a secret freak. When was the last time someone completely subverted your expectations?

3. EVERYTHING SHOWER

I got really into TikTok videos of people posting their “Everything Shower” routines.

For those less addicted to Internet drivel than I: it’s where someone films their ideal lineup for something less…“shower” and more…total body reset. Think: scalp scrub + new razor + hair mask + honey face mask +teeth whitening + cuticle trimming.

What’s the last thing you did that felt like resetting your entire existence? Maybe it has nothing to do with self-care, but just offers a semblance of starting fresh.

4. UNSUBSCRIBE

Whose voice or influence do you need to dial down right now?

5. LOCAL LORE

What's the current mythology in your immediate circle? The story everyone keeps retelling; the code word; the inside joke that’s evolved into something greater.

6. DOOMED (BUT MAKE IT CAMP)

In what ways have you been leaning into absurdity?

Treating failed dates like reality TV? Narrating your meetings like it’s a “get ready with me” video? Documenting your plant's slow death as true crime?

7. BETWEEN THERE & HERE

In The Hero With a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell writes about "The Threshold," or the protagonist's point of no return between the known and unknown.

What’s a decision or transition you’re barreling toward —or in the middle of—that you can’t undo?

8. WHY NOT?

What are your current “who cares?” indulgences? Not the obvious splurges, more like the things you’re choosing because they’re ridiculous? Buying the plastic container of pre-sliced mango. Ghosting the group chat. Upgrading to first class… on a one-hour flight.

---

As ever, I’m here with you.

I’m writing from a hotel restaurant, eavesdropping on a weird date.

He: “wears his heart on his sleeve” and loves soccer.

She: loves Billy Joel, believes in performance.

They’re talking in circles, but they’re trying. I guess we all are.

Waving from afar,
LP

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