Is Life Meaningless?
“Life is meaningless!” - if this is you, and you either believe yourself to be sick, or have been told you are sick, please consider the opposite.
To our best knowledge, no other species on this planet has asked themselves the question “what is my purpose, is my life worth living?” While it seems quite unlikely that animals question their mortality, until we can spark up a conversation with our furry friends, or read their minds, this is a futile discussion.
For humans however, we often find ourselves asking “what is the point in all of this.” As Albert Camus said “there is but one truly serious problem… judging whether life is or is not worth living”.
In most modern societies the belief is that questioning ones own existence is a mental illness. I’d like to purpose a counter view point. Perhaps not only is it not an illness, but a profound inner awareness - a deep part of our being with the desire to self actualize. Perhaps it is that questioning this notion, is not only healthy, it’s the very thing that makes us human.
For some of us, to follow the herd, or conform to the orders of authority figures is enough of an explanation as to what we should be doing with our time on this planet. For others however, this is not enough. Many of us who have taken a closer look at this experience we call Life, are left pondering deeper questions such as, “what is the meaning of it all?”, “what am I doing on this planet?”
If you grew up in our modern western culture, it’s likely that asking oneself these questions has an element of fear, of uncertainty attached to it. When everybody else appears to go through the motions, blindly following as other do, why is it that I cannot accept this?
If this existential notion exists at a surface level, if it has not been deeply explored and resolved, there will be characteristics that highlight this. These traits Victor Frankl has labeled “the mass neurotic triad.” A mindset that consists of aggression, depression and addiction. There is a frustration with others and ones own life, an accompanying despair, topped with escapist behaviours to numb the aforementioned unpleasant states.
When an individual fails to create meaning in their life, they will naturally turn to the fruitless pursuit of chasing pleasure, and power (or status) with the false belief that acquiring such will fill the void within.
What then is the solution to this dilemma one faces when confronted with this existential perspective. First, we must accept and acknowledge that to be human, ones life will not be fulfilled by merely gratifying and satisfying the senses. Instead, one must transcend this belief, and view life through a different lens. Namely, perspective of creating and fulfilling self decided values.
In order for these values to provide relief from the suffering imposed by the mass neurotic triad, one must take into account that this newly established value system must be comprised of two elements.
The first: the values must provide some form of joy, interest, and excitement to the individual pursuing them.
The second: the values must in some way contribute to the betterment of mankind, and the planet as a whole.
Contrary to popular belief, pursuing power, and/or pleasure, are not the greatest motivations for a human being. In seeking these, a void within will always remain. To find everlasting peace and eliminate the void forever, one must walk a path in the pursuit of meaning.