Is Life Nihilistic or Actually Full of Meaning?
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Life As we know it: Cosmic Fairy Tale or Beautiful Masterpiece? (Spoiler Alert: It’s Both)
Have you ever stared at the night sky, looked at all the billions of twinkling stars, and thought for a moment: “Wow. I am so small in this universe... Does any of this even matter?”
Congratulations, you’ve unlocked Level 1 Nihilism! Welcome to the club. We meet every Friday, bring your own coffee and snacks.
The idea that life is meaningless—**part of deep nihilism**—can feel freeing or horrifying, depending on whether you’re holding a cup of tea or a tax bill at the time. But is life really JUST an accidental scene in a cold, indifferent universe? Or is there, dare I throw out there, some actual meaning sprinkled into the chaos of life?
Today, let’s dive into this arena of thought.
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First, What Even *Is* Nihilism?
Nihilism is basically the philosophical version of looking around and saying, “I guess, nothing matters.” It tells us there’s no real meaning to life, no grand cosmic purpose, and no universal moral code to living. It’s the ultimate "You do you" worldview—except instead of sounding empowering, it sounds like a sad trumpet playing in the distance.
Friedrich Nietzsche, a cool German philosopher, warned us that recognizing the absence of inherent meaning could either destroy us—or set us free to create our own values. He called it a crisis and also an opportunity, which is a very fancy way of saying: "Hey, it’s not all bad here."
So if life is a blank canvas we draw on daily... is that really terrifying, or is it art?
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The Case for Life Being Meaningless
Let’s be real. If you zoom out just enough, everything seems weird.
- YOU are a slightly evolved human typing on a piece of plastic(laptop).
- EARTH is a small rock orbiting around a super hot sun.
- The UNIVERSE doesn’t care or even know you exist. (Rude point made.)
In this cold cosmic view, love, ambition, and TGI Fridays are just neurons firing aimlessly. No grand puppeteer pulling the strings. No “greater purpose” flashing on a cosmic flashcard. It’s just... random events and stuff happening.
If you take that seriously, it’s easy to feel like building a life—falling in love, starting a family, getting a degree, starting an organic garden—is like setting up an elaborate birthday party for someone who doesn't care for the effort. Thanks, but no thanks.
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But Hold on—What If That's Actually Great News?
Now, before you spiral into the abyss and think that I am crazy, consider this:
**Maybe the fact that life has no pre-set meaning is the best possible thing.**
Consider it. If life had a rigid, prescribed purpose, it might be anything as dull as "process paperwork" or "be mildly pleasant until expiration." Rather, we are given a magnificent, chaotic freedom by the blankness. It's similar to receiving an empty notebook rather than a strict script.
Your meaning is up to you to *choose*.
You don't find meaning under a rock somewhere. It's made, like a half-decent IKEA bookcase or a very nice pizza. Even when the cosmos could not care less, your connections, passions, struggles, poorly done artwork, and inside jokes with friends all combine to create a meaning that is personal and real.
And truthfully? In any case, I don't want a far-off galactic entity to micromanage my meaning. Telling my wife how to load the dishwasher properly is about as much as I can take.
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A Quick Chat with the Existentialists
Enter the existentialists—those broody philosophers who looked nihilism straight in the eye and said, "Alright, so life has no meaning? Cool. We'll just create our own, thanks."
The original deadpan king, Camus, even suggested that we should picture Sisyphus, the man destined to push a rock uphill forever, as happy.
Why? Because the disobedience itself—the boldness of continuing to push the rock—becomes significant in and of itself.
That’s right: life might seem absurd, but that absurdity is an invitation to be awesome once you stop expecting it to make sense.
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So... Is There Meaning?
Here’s the kicker: **both things can be true**.
Life might not come with a cosmic mission statement stamped onto your birth certificate, but meaning still grows all over the place like wildflowers in the garden.
**Meaning is about showing love to people.**
**Meaning is about making bad jokes at family dinners.**
**Meaning is building something you truly believe in, even if it’s seems insignificant to others.**
Meaning doesn’t have to be some grand, Instagram like purpose. It can be small, funny, messy at times, personal, ridiculous even—and still be deeply real.
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Final Thoughts with Inspiration
If life is a cosmic fairy tale, then the best response isn’t despair—it’s to laugh along the way. Dance as much as possible. Hug people like you mean it. Build sandcastles even though you know the ocean will just wash it away.
Meaning isn’t given to you written like instructions in the stars—it’s made by you, moment by moment, crumb by crumb, hug by hug.
And honestly? That sounds way more exciting than some boring, one-size-fits-all cosmic plan.
Now if you don't mind, I have a meaningless (but delicious) ice cream banana split to eat—and that feels like the most meaningful thing in the universe right now.
Thanks for reading. Please leave a comment below so we can engage in positive conversation and if you have not done so already Please Subscribe. If you love listening to podcasts then you can follow me by clicking here👉Wise Mindset Guy Podcast
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