”Nihilism can make you happier, even in the Covid era”

At its simplest, it’s a declaration that life is meaningless. That the systems we subscribe to, to give us a sense of purpose (religion, politics etc), are constructs. Notions of morality, decency and goodness are not inherent to the fabric of existence, but concepts we allow to dictate our collective reality.

When I consider nihilism and life’s meaninglessness, I begin by remembering that in the scope of all human history, I really matter very little. My issues and concerns are pointless. My successes and failures will all eventually be forgotten. As will the achievements and stumbles of everyone around me. That perspective makes me, and my problems, feel very small.

 Ironically, in a reality constructed to make everything feel overly significant, that actually leaves us anxious and miserable, insignificance offers a strange sense of peace. While I may feel dwarfed by the scope of endless and apathetic time, the smallest elements of my life begin to expand. If nothing matters long term, my focus shifts to this moment. I understand that the present, however mundane, is as fleeting, temporal, fragile, and ultimately forgettable as the greatest events in human history.

Approached this way, nihilism makes me wonder about what I do and don’t pay attention to. Is what another person thinks of me as meaningful (or meaningless) as a brush of jasmine tumbling over a neighbour’s fence? Not really. So why am I consumed by one while ignoring the other? The only difference is one leaves me feeling stressed, the other delivers a fleeting but pure moment of pleasure.

I encourage you to try this exercise: If you accept that you don’t matter, that your name, ego, reputation, family, friends and loves will soon be gone, how does the way you understand your own time, money and energy change? Maybe the process reframes your attention to things you hope will last for a little longer than yourself. Or perhaps it draws you back to that present moment: the small joys you can access today, the people you love, their right to feel safe, respected and well.

With its help I can pause for a moment to appreciate my reality for what it truly is: random, absurd, sometimes painful, often lovely, completely my own, and totally meaningless. In that way, nihilism makes me feel, above all, free.

ニヒリズムーー人生は無意味。

人生の目的は作り物でまがい物。

政治、宗教、道徳、勝敗、名声、金、家族、友だち、自分・・・なんの価値もなく、どうでもいい。 

一切は無常、儚（はかな）く、移ろいやすいー例えば、わたしの成功も失敗も、君の成功も失敗も何年か先には忘れさられている。

長続きするものがないならそんなものにわずらわされていないで、むしろこの不条理な偶然ーーときに痛みを伴い、ときに美しいこの無意味な瞬間に目をむけたらどうか。意味や目的の重みから解放されて自由を感じることができるよ、と。

ーーー儚い地上のものを超絶した無窮永遠の神に向かうか、移ろいやすい今この瞬間にむかうか・・・・儚い今に永遠をみるか？