Fighting Nihilism

I think about the things that have meant the most to me in life: music, writing, and some of the better friends I've known. Even if I completely cease to exist when I die, those are things that were worth living for.

I hope death isn't the end, but I can't pretend to know beyond doubt. If I tried to find a conclusive answer, it would drive me insane. It's better to accept the uncertainty and live life to the fullest than to waste it all trying to know the unknowable.

 

The beauty is that we make the meaning. A blank canvas means nothing except that there may one day be a painting on it that inspires someone to write a novel, which in turn inspires someone else to change the world.

You can find meaning in life by contributing to others and appreciating what they contribute to you.

 

The question to an "intrinsic" meaning is, usually, the question for an external meaning.

Something someone else (other people, God, the laws of the universe) has included, before and beyond your wishes on the matter, which you need to conform to or fulfill.

So in that sense, the lack of an intrinsic meaning can even be liberating! If it doesn't matter to some external benchmark, all that's important is that it matters to you, or to people you want it to matter to! You get to make your own goals and define your own successes!




Also, eternity isn't the only measure of things. What I type here is not eternal. In the end, the sun will become a red giant and swallow the Earth.

But in the meantime: it has effects. People might read it and change their actions or their views. This will cause others they know to change their actions or views, etc. etc.
So in a way, all our actions do echo for a long time.

And even if it only gets read by one person, who only has a fleeting moment of connecting to me before forgetting it... then what's wrong with that? A single moment can still be a beautiful thing. A sunset is not worthless because it's short!

Finally, all actions are, in a way, eternal after all. I will die, my boyfriend will die, and we might be forgotten only a few decades later. But our first kiss will never not have happened. It's a part of reality forever, no matter whether anyone remembers it. And that's a thought I like a lot.



...and I'm aware that that's rather philosophical.

So the best practical advice I can give is to not sit in a corner doing nothing. You don't need to figure out the meaning of life before you can live it.
And quite often, I only see the value in something after I've given it a try.
So: keep innovating. Try out new hobbies or new career options. When you find something that truly fits you, the meaning can often be apparent in ways it can't be by just thinking about it!

 

I just accept it, like in The Myth of Sisyphus. Just because there's a meaning to life doesn't mean it's good. It's up to you to find meaning, rather than just waiting to figure it out effortlessly. If it really bothers you, just distract yourself.

 

I think, like a lot of things, it's better to accept it rather than fight it. Maybe there's a meaning, maybe there's not and we're all just uselessly existing here. But the latter chance is probably better than the first chance, as you can just enjoy life whilst you're here, do something good for society, have fun and not have too many regrets. After all, you're just one person in a world of billions, but do something good and your legacy will remain in generations to come. It's all up to you.

 

I used to worry about that. I no longer do. A long time of philosophical musing cured me from having to grasp in the dark for inherent meaning. A bit of that philosophy is all I can provide here, hoping that is satisfactory.

1. Your road is your road. You have a 'destiny', in my opinion. And no, it is not arbitrary. You were born with certain characteristics, certain aptitudes and tendencies, etc. On top of that, society is constantly influencing you, changing the above mentioned things. Well, this, along with your desires and other things, will mean that certain choices, approaches to those choices, etc. will be better than others. The sum of these choices, plus your intuitive knowledge and many things, will make one path in life, always changing a little, drifting to the right or the left, the best one for you and fulfilling of your potential. That is your destiny.

2. There is inherent meaning, according to me. Just different approaches to it. There is one thing, that can be experienced at different levels, that has inherent meaning, according to me. That is the connection that all of humanity share. It's a bond, an intuitive understanding beyond thought. It's what you feel attuned to when watching a movie where the hero/ine is struggling, or songs with powerful meanings, when you want to reach out to someone who is thinking of ending their own life, even though you don't know them... it's beyond empathy and common kindness. It's just there, always. And it is inherently valuable to me.

3. You create meaning. In human society, we create meaning. Mass psychology is incredibly complex. But we do ascribe meaning to things over time. When that becomes the norm, then there is meaning to that. For example, it is a norm that volunteering for various charities is a good thing that there is meaning to, because it helps others and contributes to a better atmosphere in society. Thus, if you follow that norm, you're doing something that most consider meaningful, and it would likely feel meaningful to you because of that, plus that your human instinct is to help and empathize, so that would give you satisfiction and likely meaning.

4. You are an immortal ripple. That might sound cheesy. But look at it this way. You are one in so, so many. We are so much alike, even though we are all unique, because of the way the enormous complexicity of mass psychology interacts with our nature.
You might look at yourself as a ripple in an ocean. An ocean with a lot of ripples and little waves, just to make things simple. You start small and you go outwards, further and further from home. You meet other ripples and affect them, which in turn meet other ripples and affect them, etc. etc. Your actions in this world will ripple on forever, until all is gone and the universe is chaotic or tranquil, once more.

 

Well, you are making an assumption which you likely do not below yourself, for the purpose of negation; that there is an objective universal truth, and anything that is not that is illusionary. Can you really point to something and explain beyond doubt that it is not illusionary? Meaningful or meaningless, it is all a very skewed perspective. So does it matter if it's an illusion?

And also; does it matter that there's lots we don't know? Isn't it mostly that we need to know what's relevant, and everything else mostly is a way to gain a bit more open-minded perspective, or just muse?

 

Huh? Do you mean "grand scheme of things" by total contents of the universe? Yeah, scientists suppose the lights will go out a hardly conceivable long time from now, but why should you worry about personal death, enlargement of the sun, and heat death of the universe when you can share beauty with somebody tomorrow? The point is that it matters now. Every day is a blessing, because as far as we know, we're the only creatures in existence to truly ponder ourselves. We are the universe having woken up. And if at some time we go back to sleep, that's still pretty cool.

 

If nothing matters, then the idea that nothing matters, in itself, is no exception.

Use that to take control of your life and find your own purpose. It doesnt matter if what we do isn't of cosmic significance because we don't exist on that level, not that it's impossible we'll make it there someday. I can also assure you that no discoveries ever made by humans on that scale, were found with the attitude that, "we arent meant to understand the mysteries of the universe, so we may as well not even bother." Push the limits, surpass your own boundaries, don't burn yourself out on the big questions we cant answer, use that time and energy to explore yourself and the world you can observe around you. For all you know the thing that gives your life the purpose you're looking for, could be right around the corner.

 

Obviously not! Not if there is nothing but illusions to choose from.

And, also: kageshiro said it right.

 

I think I'm like a soft nihilist. Or maybe just someone who can't make very good rules. IDK. ^^

 

“ Maybe, just maybe, there is no purpose in life.
But if you linger a while longer in this world,
you might discover something of value in it... "
Orochimaru, Naruto


Is a favorite quote of mine. So much so, it's something I subscribe to...​

Spoiler

I would say nihilism runs in my blood. It's a very soothing concept, because it provides the ultimate security blanket.

If you believe/predict/accept that everything, ultimately, goes bad... you're smarter, a little ahead of the curve, can even get in that scolding 'I told you so' on, everybody else. It's basically an injection of confidence, a stimulation that prolongs the consideration of the alternative: suicide.

A true nihilist would never proclaim they were one, they'd tap out to Life and leave the rest of the universe on their own.

I'm nearly 30 and have wasted so much time. While I have experienced and learn some useful things, there are many that still elude me. And instead of working on myself in a positive way, I would bully and incite others in negative ways; I was a crybaby bully. If I can't have it, nobody will -- we will all be miserable equally. Like friendship. My life is very empty when it comes to substance. Hard as that is to admit, if you cut past all the redeemable qualities, that's what you'll find.

There's no problem going up to people, hanging out with them, or sharing something, but rarely is there any kind of emotional anchor. No reason for me to invest in another, and that is a very problematic way to be. It may keep me all tough and independent, but it also leaves me bathing in the fumes of misery--

And nobody finds De La Hate fragrence sexy. Well, a few might, but that is another conversation for another time...

Go to work, pay bills, maybe get herpes or a parking ticket here and there, and you die. That's Life.

It fucking sucks. But that's how it can appear to be, and everything else is just there to distract you from it.

If there is a God, he must have a very macabre sense of humor. Or he isn't there. Mother Nature must enjoy her trolling, with the hurricanes and earthquakes. Or she's really just a bunch of fancy random components, with no rhyme or reason.

What's the point of race? Like, what is the point of diversity if it only brings division?
Why does the Ku Klux Klan still exist?
Why did Adolf Hitler think he'd look fabulous in shorts?
Why do children starve?
Who thought cancer was a good idea?

On and on with the teenager-fueled sitcom. It isn't hard to find a reason to be upset or to cry about, is what I'm saying.

This may not be of much use to you, but perhaps it will give you something to think about:

If Life really has no purpose, why does it survive?

Maybe nobody will remember you, save some relatives, a few friends, and a pet or two. But you have no idea what you allowed to transpire. Perhaps by being with somebody on a day, you made them feel a little better, a little smarter, a little more inspired, which contributed to them sharing that with their own loved ones. That seems nominal and sentimental, I know, but love spreads. Love makes people do stupid stuff, but it also generates some very fascinating pieces of history and life. I simply wish to see what influence I may or may not have, and perhaps find something to amuse me.

Life is a little bit of time and a whole bunch of stress. I learned that, I accepted that, years ago. Now I can either work around that, or I can cry about it and do nothing. I know what it's like to be a crybaby bully, and I do not like that, so the other choice is to try and change this.

I am also a ridiculously cocky bitch 99.9% of the time, and the idea of anything making me it's bitch, riles me up like no other. It may be written in the stars of the great big book of prophecy that I fail, but God damn it, you'll remember my failure.

I don't live because I think anything matters, I stay alive because I like to spite the powers that be.

If Life wants me to hate, I'm going to love.
If Life wants me to cry, I'm going to laugh.
If Life wants me to give up, I'm going to hang on.
If Life wants me to admit I'm meaningless, I'll spit in that bitch's face.

<3

 

you don't 'fight' it, you can drink/sleep it away, ignore it/create faux rationalizations to explain how things can matter, or accept it and die inside until you die outside.

what I do is ignore it and focus on my small, meaningless existence and try to become the best me I can before everything I am is washed away like waves washing over lines in the sand. and make things suck less for other ppl.

existential crisis are inescapable, if you think about too long you might end up killing yourself, so fuck everyone else and have fun with your life without making other people's lives suck.

 

To continue the sandcastle metaphor, what we're doing is building one in the lull between two waves. It is tenuous, but worth building not because it lasts, but because you achieved it in adversity and recognized its splendor (even if it sucks XD). All that's really happening is a change in perspective. You don't need to see the end of everything. You need to see the part that counts. People love pets because of the rich bonds and memories made, even with full knowledge that they will one day die.

Worth it. <3