An early introduction to Existentialism
Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes individual existence, freedom, and choice. It holds that, as there is no God or any other transcendent force, the only way to counter this nothingness (and hence to find meaning in life) is by embracing existence.
I suppose, the capitalists swallowed this and spit out YOLO or ‘one life-live it’. The text to a certain extent implies a similarly empowering message but more importantly, helps you sell the product!
Each of us is treading our own journeys, our battles, scar us differently.
I’m inherently lazy, so I did not put up a fight when the premise of my storyline initially dawned on me. It was sometime in between failing Math tests in high school and watching the girl I had a crush on, go on a date with someone else, I realized - life has no meaning. Since then, I have enjoyed more than my fair share of happiness and when the euphoria dies down, I’m reassured of the premise I initially arrived at — life genuinely has no meaning…
Surely I wasn’t the first person to encounter this. The sentence ‘life has no meaning’ if absolute in itself should be enough for us a species to call it a day. People, far more accomplished than I have understood that life has no meaning outside of what we chose to attribute towards it. I subscribe to this school of thought and therefore consider myself to be an optimist.
If you are still with me, here is my point of contention — why don’t we as a society introduce this premise to children saving them precious time and angst. Not talking about this without a glass-half-full at an afterparty has fuelled one of the many capitalistic industries that thrive off humanity’s ignorant parade towards a ‘mid-life crisis.’
I’m sure therapists are mostly good people but no one should be allowed to charge that kind of coin for sitting on a couch and asking 3 questions every hour, leaving conversations on a cliffhanger, so that another session is warranted next Thursday.
I would have personally been extremely grateful if by the time I was 10 I was told that my actions are of little to no consequence in the larger scheme of things and that making the choice to be good regardless is much better than doing so with the temptation of seeking an eventual heaven/redemption.
I don’t intend to have any children of my own but should that change down the line, I’ll be sure to talk to those bedwetting milk addicts with the dignity and respect that they deserve. I’m genuinely excited by the prospect of a generation of children grappling with being told what to do for the most part while also being explicitly informed about the fact that — nothing really matters and they ought to figure this shit out for themselves.
Come to think of it, the therapists would end up making so much more in this version of the world. Capitalism always wins. Sigh.
