Let’s start with a super cliched question: What is the meaning of life?
Now, this looks like a what question, but it is actually more of a why question. Why am I here? What reason do I have for living?
My personal solution to this since way back is as follows: Don’t focus on the why. Focus on the what! Why? Who knows? All that I know is that I am here. What I have control over is what I choose to do with this life that I have been granted. Why? Does that really matter? In essence, practically speaking, the answer to this question is one’s very attitude to life itself. What is the meaning of life? Why, the meaning of life is to live! Presented with an existence, you are choosing to answer this question with how you live your life!
Speaking of which, this answer is so nostalgic to me… I must have realised it back in high school or something. Anyway, back to the topic. Life attitudes. What kind of life attitudes are there? I guess, maybe, I will ‘generate’ two – the optimistic life attitude and the pessimistic life attitude. In the optimistic life attitude, you believe that human nature is good. However bad things may seem, you’re filled with a conviction that you just need to do your best. In the pessimistic life attitude, you are… somewhat closed off, cynical, refusing to see what you do not want to see. You are kind of sensitive because you know deep inside that you are only putting on a front to hide your ‘unsightly’ side (These are firsthand thoughts that came without any prior contemplation). I don’t believe in pessimism, though. It takes a lot of effort AND spoils your mood. Seriously, being open, plus communicating, would save a great deal of grief!
Some people say that they are pessimistic because of this simple principle. Ah, nostalgia… if you don’t have any expectations, you won’t be disappointed! Elementary! However, this is the deal. A human being needs to have expectations and ideals, for otherwise there is no point living. However painful it is, you still have to hold on to hope and soldier on, for otherwise, you will forever be stuck in a distasteful place. Also, having your expectations tempered, really, does not translate to pessimism! Pessimism is a defeatist attitude where you close shop inside yourself and stay stagnant. Instead, I think it’s obvious, really. What tempered expectations equates to is none other than realism or being realistic about stuff. This is compatible with optimism! You know that not everything is going to go your way. However, you maintain an optimistic attitude and fearlessly challenge it all the same. This fear holding you back? Now that would be the really scary thing. Here, in optimism, idealism and realism come hand in hand. I idealistically seek a better (as I see it) world… Yet, I am surely realistically aware that it may not manifest. Still, hope!!! You know the gravity of the situation when sometimes people say ‘all hope is lost’? That’s because hope is our final bastion (though it may very well be dashed). Without it, we have nothing left.
The epitome of hope is none other than faith. Now, the most obvious example of faith is religious faith. Personally, back in university, I shared this opinion of Soren Kierkgaard (I think…) basically saying that religion is unprovable by logic and whatever. We can only take a leap of faith to believe that it is true. I pretty much felt that religion does not have to greatly influence our attitudes towards life. After all, the why is not something that can be answered. Only the what is. On this note, you can already max your way of life to be the best it can be, one that will leave you without any regrets.
But this may be because I’m kind of a philosopher myself! I like to find my own way! I know that this definitely isn’t the same for most people. Most people wish to be guided! Regarding that, the greatest thing about these philosophical traditions are the principles they espouse. In other words, what’s valuable is how they teach people how to live. Now, dogma is absolutely the worst, of course. Still, my belief is in extracting/distilling the value out of idea systems while discarding what is irrelevant. Kind of practical, you may say. This world may have some pretty rotten systems nowadays, but I’ll definitely think that they are not intrinsically bad, just that a worthless bunch of good-for-nothings made them that way.
Did you know? Many prophecies from around the world claim that a great sage will rise up from the East to save us all. Christianity calls this person the Messiah, Buddhism calls this person the Maitreya Buddha or Future Buddha. There have been a good many Chinese videos about this recently. So catastrophe is gonna come but there will come this great person who will lead us out of it together to a utopia. Good people with faith will be rewarded while bad people will have no salvation and all that. I can personally see why we all require salvation in this day and age. After all, human beings are worshipping economic growth like gods and ignoring all future repercussions. With the end of that major ideological war in a bygone century, we have settled down into a state of stagnancy-till-doom, excess-till-famine. We are not seeking an ideal society, which is what we are supposed to be doing. There is no hope. There is just a blind acceptance of the prevailing order as truth. Okay, nostalgia… But anyway, you can see why some would hold faith in this idea of salvation!! It is literally a pillar of support for our existences.
Saying such stuff makes me seem like a weird person??! What can I say? Hmm… well, in general, always, some people may think that you are weird for sticking to your principles. However, that so ain’t true. Embrace your principles!!! Self-doubt will send your tower crumbling! Well unless they’re flawed in some aspect and making your life needlessly tiring and unhappy, in which case you should carefully, slowly but surely go reassess yourself at your own pace. If the difficulty to relate is because you’ve reached a state of higher enlightenment, good for you then because you know better! To you, case closed!
Sure, at some point in their lives, people may regret stuff, doubt themselves. At these points in time, one must kindly!!! reaffirm themselves. Can you confidently say that you have been doing your best? Well then, isn’t it the case that you are wondering if you are good enough precisely because you aspire towards the good? If so, enough said. You may have flaws, but you’re only human. You bear principles and strive towards ideals… so you can be proud.
Now, I’m beginning to feel like a walking cliché, and this post was impromptu and really me rambling on about random stuff, so I’m gonna stop… Ningen banzai! Or whatever.
PS: Disillusionment in humanity is an example of pessimism. Others sadly don’t share your principles and pure earnestness! Some people are just very used to not being understood. Thus, they tend to feel a sense of overwhelming helplessness in the face of trying to explain things to others and may easily give up on trying to defend their positions/stand up for themselves. They are likely to suffer in silence, suppressing their mounting frustration as others make a real mockery of their values and flaunt their severe lack of open-mindedness and limited perspective. Or simply just outright ignore them. These people shouldn’t succumb pathetically to pessimism. The battles that they see worth in fighting, should still be fought! Chronic sufferers, we can do it!!! Optimistically believe in the true bonds that’ll be formed someday!
PPS: The above was inspired from a true event yesterday. Also, as far as I can tell, pessimists are sorely lacking in open-mindedness and set in surety!!! about what they know. People originally start out as optimists, but their hearts are gradually tainted by society, to become warped and no longer pure + clear. Their original 赤子之心 is gone. That, I feel, is the greatest tragedy of the modern/secular world. The Daoists speak of the exalted 真人 (cultivated person). This refers to those who have retained/cultivated their original nature of 真 (trueness). Certainly, of course, people can be optimists in some aspects while pessimists in others. I myself noticed pessimism in myself after writing this post. What is needed is effort in order to shift your mindset to an optimistic one, one of always just doing your best and thus being accountable to yourself. As for the darkness of others, no need to be polluted by them! You alone are self-sufficient as a vessel of light. See no evil. Hold to the truth in your heart as you happily live, for you, by you, as you.
(PSes here are edits added after original post)