There are so many ways you can stand on this rock.
It’s split in two. Because of some kind of massive erosion that took place millions of years ago. But it’s always been one rock.
After the waters, floods, and sun spent years degrading it into two separate pieces it now feels like two separate rocks.
You stand on one or you stand on the other.
And really you can stand on both in only standing on one, because they are one rock.
The illusion of the split is the mind fuck.
It tells us that the Nihilist point of view; that life means nothing and we can do whatever the fuck we want equals destruction.
And even Nietzsche; one of the more famous Nihilists once said,
“Without music, life would be a mistake”.
And yet the Monism point of view practiced in ‘A course in Miracles’ also teaches that life means nothing and we can do whatever the fuck we want and that equals love.
I’m simply practicing finding the common denominator in two things seemingly separate, that I don’t believe are separate.
Both ideology’s or way of living in the case of a Nihilist (who wouldn’t say it’s an ideology at all) have a common similarity.
Life is meaningless.
Once upon a time, long ago, in another life, I attended a workshop called “THE FORUM”. I went after a friend bought it for me, otherwise I likely wouldn’t have endured the endless weekend just to get to the ‘meaning of life’ they promised at the end.
They would hate for me to share this with you, in fact, I could likely be sued by this article but after 3 grueling days of self-investigation, pouring over past traumas, and not being able to pee for hours on end since the doors to the conference room were locked, they finally shared their truth.
The truth of THEIR program. THE TRUTH OF LIFE.
You’re supposed to go through the 3-day extensive weekend to hear this (and it may be the part I get sued over) but I’m gonna share it here to save you the time. The truth of THEIR program is:
LIFE IS MEANINGLESS. AND THAT IN ITSELF IS MEANINGLESS.
That is their secret to life. And isn’t it every ideology or way of thinking?
If you really apply it. To everything, it becomes way more than one rock split in two, it’s actually one rock that’s been annihilated and severed into infinite pieces.
Christians might say life is meaningful to Jesus. But Jesus is their own creation. Only given the meaning they give to him. He’s actually not here to give his say so on the matter, so that in itself is meaningless.
Nihilists might say life is meaningless. So why not destroy everything. It means nothing. And yet, in their destruction they create their own meaning. That means nothing.
Monism posits that, there exists only a single thing. The Universe. And so nothing has meaning outside the one thing. But the one thing does have meaning. It means nothing.
Atheists might say there are no deities. There is no meaning applied to any deity others recognize. There is no meaning in deities as defined by religion. And yet it means something for them to define themselves as undefined by religion. And still, it means nothing.
I could go on and on with all the religions, doctrines, theologies, and beliefs. It doesn’t end.
But this is my story and my life.
I’m not saying the FORUM is right or wrong. Simply, I learned something from that weekend I often remember.
I would state it differently than they do.
I would state it more in a Monistic point of view (mostly because I found ‘A Course in Miracles’ to be more helpful for me than a weekend locked in a warehouse-business-district-building without access to a bathroom or food breaks).
I would state it as:
NOTHING MEANS ANYTHING. ONLY THE MEANING YOU APPLY TO IT MATTERS. AND THAT IN FACT DOES MEAN SOMETHING BECAUSE IT DOES TO YOU. AND YOU MATTER. YOU ARE LOVE. YOU ARE WORTHY.
We will most definitely, as humans, apply meaning to things, we do tend to make meaning out of everything after all. It’s almost impossible not to.
If you make no meaning of anything people might say you’re a true Nihilist. However, I would argue that you still define things, and to define them is to make meaning of them.
So the better question becomes, ‘What one life would you actually enjoy living?’
Perhaps it’s the best question. Or maybe it’s a statement.
Do whatever the F-*** you want to do. Whenever you want.
Ask yourself what mark you want to leave on the world, and if the answer is yes, than do it.
“But what if the mark you want to leave is bad?”
Someone might ask this, and my response would be,
“In all lives all.”
So wherever someone leaves bad, good can be found. And also, all the other things. One thing is not another. Everything is one. You leave one mark. It impacts others the way it impacts them. You choose to make meaning of that impact. If you want it to be uplifting it will be. If you want to create chaos and hurt you will. It’s up to you. Whatever your actions are, will be what they are and someone like me will find the beauty in it. Because I’ve trained my eye to see it. Someone else might see the darkness in it, it’s also what they’ve trained themselves to see.
NONE OF IT MEANS ANYTHING. ONLY THE MEANING YOU’VE APPLIED TO IT.
And that may be my Monistic point of view. And it might not be yours. And still I think we can find a low hanging fruit that allows us to bite into the apple together and enjoy whatever the fuck this thing we decided to call life together is.
Because as a collective we actually did decide to call this thing we’re doing life.
So it’s a common denominator.
I hope for your life to be filled with love, worth, and significance.
IT MATTERS. BECAUSE IT MATTERS TO YOU. AND YOU MATTER.
That’s how I feel about all of it.
And all of this means nothing. But it doesn’t mean zero. Because I matter too. So I am one with my beliefs, and so are you.
xx