Sometimes I get so lost in the idea that I mean nothing. But don’t we all. At some point in our lives we all create a world without ourselves: relationships without us, communities without us, projects without us. And for most of us the thought is as far as we get, which in hindsight is most definitely a good thing.
Recently, a friend introduced a book, Albert Camus’s The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays, to me that addresses man’s inability to find meaning and how to deal with it. My friend knew I had been extremely interested in the subject matter. He read a quote from the fourth page of the book that still resonates with me, “On the other hand, I see many people die because they judge that life is not worth living. I see others paradoxically getting killed for the ideas or illusions that give them a reason for living (what is called a reason for living is also an excellent reason for dying). I therefore conclude that the meaning of life is the most urgent of questions. How to answer it? On all essential problems (I mean thereby those that run the risk of leading to death or those that intensify the passion of living) there are probably but two methods of thought…” I’ve only read it about fifty times now, but each time I find more comfort than the last. Not only am I not the only one who questions life’s purpose, but a man actually spent a good chunk of time writing a book in which life’s meaning is abstractly revealed. Another quote that I find quite appealing is “It is a matter of living in that state of the absurd I know on what it is founded, this mind and this world straining against each other without being able to embrace each other. I ask for the rule— of life of that state, and what I am offered neglects its basis, negates one of the terms of the painful opposition, demands of me a resignation. I ask what is involved in the condition I recognize as mine; I know it implies obscurity and ignorance; and I am assured that this ignorance explains everything and that this darkness is my light.” To analyze this quote: the beginning discusses how our minds and this world will never be on the same page hence the never being able to “embrace each other” part. Next he begins to question the absurdity that is defined in the beginning. Knowing ignorance is greatly involved, he finishes this quote by incorporating a paradox— “darkness is my light”. The paradox exemplifies ignorance’s major role in explaining the meaning of an absurd life. One can take from this that lack of knowledge, in fact, gives our lives meaning. At various times, Camus also illustrates how man’s “whatever” attitude paves a pathway to meaning. One example is “The Myth of Sisyphus”. In this myth, the gods punish Sisyphus, forcing him to roll a large rock atop an ever large hill. Once the rock arrives at the top of the hill, its enormous weight causes the rock to roll back down the hill. Then Sisyphus must, again, roll the rock up the hill. Camus draws a parallel to Sisyphus and modern man. Both complete the same work everyday, just to continue the same work the next day. However, Camus believes this work provides joy to both parties, stating “The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man's heart.” From this one sees Camus sees struggle as a reason for man to live. And oddly enough, my analysis of this book helped me realize that I, as well as you, have meaning.
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AuthorLife enthusiast, tea addict, Winnie the Pooh admirer who is hopelessly pursuing happiness by any and all means. Archives
April 2020
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