An article on Existentialism caught my attention. I had never been particularly fond of existentialist thought; to me it seemed absurd to say that nothing has a meaning, that existence is futile, and that we do not leave anything behind us: in a nutshell, that life has no point.
But today, as I was reading, I thought this philosophy is more true than we'd like to believe. Although I'd still wish that at least something I do will matter to others, in the great scale of things my acts will be no more significant than those of a centipede crawling about or a rabbit chewing on a carrot... The whole idea of 'destined for greatness' could not be any more far from truth. We are little people living in our little worlds. That's that.
And you know what, that's probably one of the most liberating thoughts ever! Technically, if you know that your actions are microscopically important for the works of the Universe, then so much pressure is lifted from you. Even those of us who do become famous and project a great deal of influence, beit political, financial, or social, are still fairly insignificant.
Hmm... I remember reading Camus' Stranger back in 2006. Back then I thought the book was utterly depressing; when I finished it and the author made it clear that everything was insignificant and human existence is nothing more than a speck of time wasted on Earth, I almost felt betrayed (ironically, I was expecting a truly meaningful revelation at the end of the novel). Well, today I think I would appreciate the book more. I am beginning to see why Nietzsche, Sartre, Camus and all other existentialists remain as some of the most highly revered philosophers of all time!
So, existentialism is still in the 'depressing' category of philophies in my classification, yet at the same time it has made me think about life, decisions and mistakes. Applying existentialist thought to everyday situations, one could argue that even if you do something that seems as a grave mistake at the time, it wouldn't really matter in the great scale of Everything; similarly, 'great' achievements are not all that great.
Conclusion? Just live your life! It's practically your only chance to do anything... And whatever you do will most likely only matter to you, maybe your family and friends; and before you know it, no one will remember what you did. Alright, then feel free, do what you want to do, don't take life too seriously, and enjoy your allocated gameplay time on Earth :)
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