Nihilism: A Misunderstood Life Philosophy
Why I am a nihilist and believe we drastically overthink life.
Everyone at some point in life has felt that beckoning feeling of nihilism; that nothing matters and there is no point. But what if being a nihilist isn’t as depressing as it sounds and is actually freeing?
The Error in Rationality
We relish in our ability to make rational decisions and plan for the future: “Should I eat this chocolate now or save it for later?”; yet, this defining characteristic of ours is the same reason we attempt to rationalize life.
As humans we are constantly plagued with the question ‘why?’; so I would like to ask you, why does life need meaning? No seriously! It is a difficult question and challenging to address but I feel it isn’t asked enough.
We have evolved to constantly seek meaning in everything around us, our world, and our existence. We struggle with the idea that things may just… be; that there isn’t any logical reasoning or value behind their existence. But yet, in the scale of the universe, we are insignificant — smaller than a grain of sand is to a million Earths. We won’t survive forever and neither will the universe — as individuals, a society, and a planet we are impermanent.
In fact, there is a high likelihood the human race and life on Earth was birthed from a string of random events. Events that given the size of the universe were inevitable from the beginning, thus making us not special but just a blip along an ever-stretching timeline that is our universe. We aren’t programmed to understand such a counterintuitive concept, so if there really is no rational reason to life, what can we do about it?
Steps to Freeing Yourself From Meaning
1. We can acknowledge that we aren’t alone
All humans who have ever lived have struggled with their own mortality and place in the world; I’m no exception to this, even as a nihilist. Because while it’s scary picturing the end, knowing that everyone is in the same boat — that we as humans are on this journey together — can be relieving.
2. Healthy doses of meditation
The quieting of the mind and stress-relieving powers of good bouts of meditation can really help you accept this existence of ours, nihilistic or not. It helps provide the freedom to enjoy your life with no self-inflicted pressure to find meaning beyond what currently is. Don’t get me wrong, meditation is a hard practice and an ongoing pursuit but one that has always been worth it for me.
3. Choose your own meaning
There has never been another being in this universe that has ever lived or ever will live that can be YOU. Really think about what is important to you, what do you truly care about? Creating your own meaning is the most important step, this will alleviate the anxiety that comes from the idea that life itself may lack any reasoning.
4. The pendulum of life
Okay, this is all starting to sound a bit less doom and gloom, but life can still be tough with or without meaning. So just remember that whatever you are struggling with, that the pendulum swings both ways. That this troublesome point in your life will allow you to truly enjoy all the good times to come in the future.
Nihilism does not have to mean you give up; it can also be what gives you hope knowing that what is happening now or has happened in the past will not matter with time. In the end, you ultimately decide what matters.
Optimistic Nihilism
I hope this has helped shed some light on such a misunderstood philosophy and provided you with the power to pursue and enjoy life even in spite of meaning. I would now like to end this with a message using a couple of quotes from the video Optimistic Nihilism by Kurzgesagt — In a Nutshell as they summed up my thoughts beautifully.
“We are its [the universe’s] thinking and feeling parts: the sensory organs of the universe.” So “we might as well aim to be happy and build a utopia in the stars.”
So go ahead and enjoy your life; you are free to choose the meaning of your own existence. Best of luck to you all!
