Life is devoid of meaning. What is the purpose of existence if we ultimately perish and dissipate into the vastness of the universe? All memories fade, all emotions vanish, and all achievements crumble as we near the end of our life's journey. If everything ultimately goes back to nothing, why bother starting? If all structures will eventually crumble to dust, then why start building?Whether one is a saint, a serial killer, or just an average Joe, we all meet our demise eventually. So why bother doing good if the outcome is the same? If life holds no meaning, then why live?

Nihilism

Absurdism helps us deal with existential crises, but when our fate turns against us, and makes our lives unbearable. We may lose the will to live. We crave meaning to endure the suffering when we are at our lowest, but when that encouragement is lost, what is left to keep us going?This is the very reason life inflicts suffering upon us and forces us to feel hopeless. By persisting through the pain and even finding joy in it, we become stronger than fate itself.This denial of fate and rebellion against the idea of giving up on a meaningless and painful existence is what gives our lives value.

Challenging Fate

When will we feel that our life is valuable and full of meaning? It's when we can feel satisfied in the midst of death, when we truly realize that there's nothing more possible to achieve. To live is to die satisfied.From the moment we are born, all our efforts are aimed towards building up to that final crescendo, towards the eventual conclusion, where we can reach the highest climax and experience ultimate satisfaction. It is the single shortest moment of epitome in satisfaction which will be abruptly interrupted by our demise will be when our requiem ends perfectly.

To Live Is To Die Satisfied

However, the idea of eternal recurrence is only fictional and not a true afterlife scenario. Without proper evidence, let us assume that there is no afterlife or any forms of resurrection.If this is the case, then after one dies, there is nothing left remaining. If the universe dies, there is no continuation to anything and everything ceases to exist. Therefore, it is impossible for any inherent meaning to exist if everything "meaningful" will soon return to its "meaningless" state.If you feel anxious about this idea, don't you think it is absurd that our worries are never be answered?

Copium 

When we experience life to the fullest, the blank sheet of life may be filled with colors to its highest potential.For when we stop dwelling on the past or future and focus on the present, we can experience and enjoy every moment completely and wholeheartedly. By being like Sisyphus, we not only resist the punishment of the Absurd, but we also fill our sheet of life with colors and paint. It is only when we have fully covered the sheet in color that we create a masterpiece of our own life.We are the creators of our own masterpieces, and we should enjoy the process of creating.

Human Experience And Value In Living

It is the greatest absurdity of life (the Absurd) that we crave meaning to justify our own existence, when in reality, there is none.Instead of searching tirelessly for a reason to live, why not just live? If we think life being meaningless is a problem, we will feel anxious about it always.Let's take the opposite approach: accept that life is inherently meaningless. Then, the reality that life is meaningless will no longer affect our mental wellbeing.Have you ever danced just to reach a particular brick on the stage? We dance because we love to dance. This applies to life as well.

Absurdism 

Imagine carrying a boulder for eternity like Sisyphus. Would you think this mundane life would be enjoyable? This punishment by the gods to Sisyphus is so harsh that one would normally feel hopeless in carrying on. However, it is exactly for this reason that Sisyphus is happy.As he embraces the mundaneness to its fullest, he works against the gods' favor, making the punishment not a punishment for him, and showing that the gods have failed in their attempts to make Sisyphus hopeless. And thus he's happy.It is when we endure the impossible that we truly shine and finally become the Übermensch.

The Myth Of Sisyphus

This view is echoed by Sartre, who upholds the simple view that the value of life is the accumulation of all our actions that we have performed in this life.Without a reason to live, one may imagine that their being is non-existent – that it should not even exist here, right now. However, undeniably, we do feel our surroundings, such as the wind and the cold. Human experience is the most concrete evidence that we are living in the present moment, but it is also the fastest to fade away once the experience is over.This is the lightness of living, for the authenticity of living fades away fast.

The Lightness Of Living

When all of our human experiences are finally accumulated and the final note of our requiem is reached, we will have finally overcome all possible obstacles as the Übermensch. We will have lived the most absurd life against the Absurd, and our lives will have been filled with the highest value possible, reaching its climax.It is when the meaning in living may seem unattainable, we make it appear as if we have achieved it in the face of harsh reality, so that as our requiem comes to an end, we will leave satisfied, while pointing a middle-finger to life itself and embracing death's warm hug.

The Purpose Of Life

Imagine if you died and were reborn without memories of your past life. Then, you would live the same life and eventually die once more, only to be reborn again and repeatedly live the same life. This is the concept of Eternal Recurrence. Would you want your mundane life to be the one lived forever by the next "you" after your rebirth, or would you rather live your life with maximum power and authenticity so that you can fully enjoy life without any regrets? As humans, we have an inherent desire: to live life fully so that when our life reaches its maximum potential, we can leave satisfied.

Desire

How can we attain the highest possible value of our lives so that we can reach ultimate satisfaction? According to Nietzsche, it is by overcoming all human obstacles and standing on the hill of solitude as the transcended human being, the Übermensch, that we truly acquire the most life-affirming will and the greatest value in living.

Value In Life

One must imagine Sisyphus happy.

Why try to live absurdly when it is meaningless? It is precisely because life is absurd and meaningless that continuing on and rebelling against it becomes absurd. By doing so, we become more absurd than the Absurd itself. We have triumphed over life.This is the single greatest achievement any human being can aspire to: by rebelling against meaninglessness, we become even more absurd than the Absurd. And the longer we remain in this state, the more valuable our lives become.When we strive for greatness and aim to become the Übermensch, we ultimately become the embodiment of the Absurd.

Absurdism

Similar ideas to Absurdism

The Absurd

Confronting the Absurd

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