So a few days ago, I was listening to Ren’s “Meaning of Life,” and according to the song, the meaning of life was “Right here, this second, this moment, right now.” I didn’t quite understand that phrase at first. It took a deep dive into nihilism to actually understand what he meant.
I was watching another YouTuber who had animated Neanderthals, us humans, and our evolutionary forms. What does that mean? As they developed, the answer seemed more and more pessimistic. Think of it this way: what if you were a 15th-century feudal slave whose entire life revolved around getting up, breaking your back on your master’s farm all day, essentially for no pay? Then, on Sundays, you go to the church where you are told this life on earth is only a test, and real happiness awaits you in heaven. Fast forward a couple of hundred years, and Nietzsche makes the popular claim, “God is dead, and we killed him.” He did not formally proclaim the death of God himself but rather made a prediction, noticing a trend. With our advancing science and technology, people were slowly becoming not necessarily atheists, but less orthodox. They began to understand that perhaps there is nothing like heaven after all.
Now that raises a bunch of ethical questions I would love to get into, but let’s stick to our topic, which is the upcoming nihilism. If there is no God, then what are we all working towards? Well, the answer seems simple and obvious to most people. From our evolution, our species, our ancestors have excelled at one thing very well — expanding. It is like our natural calling. It even has a dialogue for it in Interstellar: we are explorers. We explore and understand this world! From exploring islands to exploring planets, figuring out the cosmos, and understanding the laws of nature, we were made for this, right? But why, though? What for? Every time you work towards something, you have a picture of the end goal. What is the end goal here with better and better technology? Better healthcare, easier and easier lives, but then what?
What if, a thousand years from now, you are sitting beside your friend in a spaceship that is going towards a new galaxy — pretty dope, huh? You ask your friend if humans basically rule the world now, and if we have made it. Your friend seems “glad” at best. He looks up to you, skeptical, and asks, “Now what?” Was this our purpose? If it was our purpose, what does one do after achieving it? What was the meaning of all this? Sure, we have conquered the cosmos, but for what!? You stay silent, for that is the best answer you have.
So if being the greatest is not the meaning of life, then what is? It only makes us feel better about our inflated selves, filling the holes and philosophical doubts that have existed for millennia. Are these existential questions just a curse of being an intelligent creature? Is the purpose of life pleasure? A hedonistic lifestyle — is that what it means to live? It must not be! That is just simulating chemicals in your brain. No, our existence should mean much more than percentages of chemicals in our brains!
So you think and think, and the same old saying comes to your mind: “The meaning of life is much easier than once thought…
I think that the meaning of life
It is to simply live
And if I am wrong
Then lord, please forgive
But it seems so simple
That it’s obvious
It makes me want to shout out
That the meaning of life is this moment
This second
Right here
Right now”
- Ren, Meaning
And this thought is received beautifully by your mind, like rain in a hot, smog-ridden area. It cools you down, it clears your mind up. This moment, this second, right here, right now! Look around you! If you are alive, there is more good in you. Take a deep breath. What do you feel? That oxygen-rich air is a result of billions of years of evolution! Every single thing has a story around you. The device you are reading this on, the place you are sitting — everything around you is a result of multiple branches of science coming together. Get out; what do you see? The blue sky, the bright stars, our own star to which we owe our life? Talking of life, do you know how rare are your chances of existing? After all of this the universe has seen?
The meaning of life is to simply live. That seems so profound! We give it our own meaning, as that is what makes intelligent beings stand out! It was never a matter of winning and losing. It was never about how the economy or quality of life was. It was about living, to breathe in, to let life sink in. Come on, you are alive on this planet. Don’t follow what others do; make your own rules, play your own games, be the hero of your own story, and bring meaning to it. No story is worthless.
