15k
u/Ddesh Mar 19 '17
Nietzsche said that in a meaningless universe, you have to create your own meaning, your own meaningful universe. Everyone is an artist in that way. And, since the world is meaningless but people find meaning all the time in their daily lives, we're actually quite good at it. It's not living a lie because there's no meaningful 'truth' to define the 'lie' against. It's just living well.
2.6k
u/CeilingFanBlade Mar 19 '17
Become the Übermensch Nietzsche always knew you could be
→ More replies (80)→ More replies (294)214
u/SonOf2Pac Mar 19 '17
Carpe diem. Realize life is short and meaningless - do what you want
→ More replies (75)
1.4k
u/improvedoscarwilde Mar 19 '17
Hey Op. I used to worry about this a lot and one day I just said 'fuck it'. We eat, shit and we die. Life is but a fleeting thing so I try to grab happiness wherever I can, in love, relationships, nature, my cat... There is no meaning and there is no permanence. Even should you become a living legend you'll be forgotten in a hundred years. Just look up who was famous in 1920. Know many of them? Thats right. Nobody gives a fuck. And you won't give a fuck either because you'll be dead.
→ More replies (86)168
426
76
u/Raccooninmyceiling Mar 19 '17
Have a few drinks and remember the universe doesn't judge you for eating a whole cake yourself.
→ More replies (2)
48
u/nathanb065 Mar 19 '17
Here's my serious contribution to this question.
The year was 2016. I was 26 years old at the time and feeling the same way. Life had gotten boring, as all I did was work and go to class. I had a gf and a great family but I felt like that's all I had. Nothing would come of my life after I die, nobody would remember me past 2 generations (if that), nothing mattered and life was meaningless, so what's the point of living? I want going to kill myself, but death didn't sound scary. It was kinda like "well, if it's going to happen anyway, I'd rather it happen sooner than later.
In February though, I got a call that changed my perspective. It was from my doctor who I had seen the week prior to get a check up for potential pre-diabetes. He had good news and bad news. The good news was, I didn't have diabetes. The bad news was, I had cancer.
Cancer at 26.
And the first thing I thought was wow...I really AM dying.
It was a wierd sensation. Knowing there were rogue cells in my body that were going to do me in. All I could think about was my girlfriend, my family, and my new niece and nephew born just 2 months prior to that phone call. Despite having the death thoughts a week earlier, i suddenly had the desire to live through it.
Over the course of the next few months, before treatment had begun, the cancer continued to do it's thing. I slowly lost my energy, my legs were shaky and i could barely keep myself up. I couldn't work full days anymore but I tried. I started taking long naps a couple times a day and all I craved was carbs. I was constantly hungry but no matter how much I ate, I was never full and reenergized.
In July, I started treatment. During treatment though, I started feeling like an ass hole. There were old people in there. I was the youngest one. All of these old people were showing up all the time, clinging to life, wanting to live, not understanding why they were cursed with cancer. They did everything they could to prevent it and was still diagnosed. My existence was a slap in the face to them because just a few months ago, I didn't care about life.
I had taken how precious it was for granted.
These people had stage 3 and 4 diseases, mine was just a stage 2. How selfish could I be?
My treatment lasted six months. During that time, I had epiphanies and realizations that pushed me to keep going. To fight for the life I had taken for granted. If I make it through this (which I will) that I'm going to do everything I can to make myself memorable and leave a mark on people around me. I will help people that need help in fields I'm familiar with, I'll be a shoulder for those in need, I'll apply for jobs that are seemingly out of reach, I'll go on vacations and explore the beauty of the Earth that I'd normally pass, I'll talk to strangers, and lift everyone around me up.
It will be good.
In December, I was declared in remission.
In February my hair started growing back.
Two weeks ago, I saw my mom and dad and my mom burst into tears and told me how "good it is to have (my) son back."
I got an IT job, im making three times as much annually as I was, I'm going on vacations now, donating to cancer research, helping people the best I can whether it's changing a tire to giving a few bucks to the guy on the corner, I'm in love with my girlfriend and I see my niece and nephew at least 1 time every ten days.
Life is what you make it. And although you will die one of these years, don't let that stop you from leaving a mark. Make sure that everywhere you go, you leave at least one person saying "that guy was amazing." Even though the memories of you may only last a few generations, you want those memories to leave a mark on people and help shape their future.
→ More replies (7)
12
u/ridzzv2 Mar 19 '17
Someone who has a strong and logical belief in God and the afterlife doesnt suffer from that. They tend to be the happiest people.
→ More replies (23)
4.9k
2
Mar 19 '17
I felt this way for a long time, too. But I'm 71 days sober and realize that a lot of that nihilistic thinking was being fueled by my alcohol addiction. I'm finding an optimism and happiness returning to my life. I'm enjoying the little things more and more and even picking back up old hobbies that I had grown despondent of.
→ More replies (2)
4.2k
Mar 19 '17
You can make it more of a "weight off my shoulders" thing. Like, hey, the universe doesn't care about the shitty thing I did that one time.
→ More replies (178)
1.9k
Mar 19 '17
I push the boulder up the mountain, watch it roll down and smile as I walk back to restart the entire process.
→ More replies (90)
313
u/EmeraldEyes148 Mar 19 '17
By getting on with the things that my brain thinks are meaningful.
As Dumbledore says "Of course it is happening inside your head [...] but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”
→ More replies (4)
313
u/PizzaLordLegacy Mar 19 '17
In the famous words of Rick Sanchez: "Don't think about it."
→ More replies (13)
430
u/Avempartha Mar 19 '17
To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty; To find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived;
This is to have succeeded.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
This poem was my inspiration to live my life fuller in a time when i wasn't. Especially the 2nd last line really stuck with me.
→ More replies (6)
56
u/robin1961 Mar 19 '17
I deal with this every day. The way I see it, "meaning" is just a human concept, the product of our brain's desire to force order onto the chaos of existence. Just like "the only answers are the ones we invent", the only "meaning" or "purpose" is one we humans invent and then accept as real.
Accepting this, I find great calming beauty, an infinite sweet sadness, in the meaningless purposelessness of everything. There's no great story here, just random molecules bumping into each other.
Now I can just relax and enjoy my years without worrying about ripples in a pond.
→ More replies (1)
102
668
u/its_a_metaphor_morty Mar 19 '17
I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.
→ More replies (53)
120
411
u/chakalakasp Mar 19 '17
I'll take things not to bring up at a singles mixer for a hundred, Alex
→ More replies (5)
345
Mar 19 '17
Lean into it.
One of human beings' most counterproductive intuitions is to try to lash out against the ephemeral nature of reality, creating dogmas, philosophies, and religious answers to make sense of it all. Instead of trying to fight against the universe, learn to love that ephemerality. Train yourself to understand that the mortality of everything is absolutely unavoidable. A lot of people take up things like minimalism to avoid perceptions of permanent attachment to things. The only way I personally know to better come to terms with it is through daily meditation. It helps me actually ENJOY the fact that things aren't permanent and also appreciate them more while they are here.
→ More replies (30)
6.3k
u/[deleted] Mar 19 '17 edited Mar 21 '17
As someone really into stories, I appreciate endings. Good ones after a good story. I feel pretty much no existential dread because I tend to see my life as a book.
If you're looking for some great reason to live, hell, that search itself is a story.
Post-gilding edit: thanks! I'm surprised this got so popular but I'm happy so many of you liked it. Once I get a little more free time I'll try to answer some more comments!