Meaning as resistance

Some existential thoughts from a journey through the Pennine way, 2022

To commit suicide is to surrender to the meaningless suffering of existence (cf. Nietzsche). Not in the sense suffering is meaningless, but that meaninglessness is suffering. We try to fill our lives with experiences in desperation of something tangible - to say 'this is me', 'this is life'. Everything we do and think is creative of the beings we are. We commit to living when we are proud of the meanings we have created. Proud but not bound. When too entrapped in one perception, we always fall short - life itself always falls short of that perception. People surrender to death. No reason is ever sufficient for suicide, but a loss of hope - meaninglessness - is necessary. And it creeps in once we think ourselves as free beings able to choose from the world of possibilities to create only one being to become. How do we choose? If there is no better option and all decisions are arbitrary, the meaning selected is a meaningless meaning. Failing to commit to a meaning is equal insanity. Living is the bravest thing we can do. When we actively choose to live, we will be fulfilled. We will create the most powerful meaning for life. The antidote to despair is kindness, gratitude and acceptance. A Schopenhauerian 'amor fati'.