Complications of Life
Life has so many different meanings that it can be hard to comprehend what we mean by the meaning of life.
- Referencing: Ernest Becker and Soren Kierkegaard
Yes, there are multiple different scientific studies as to the meaning of life, indulging in the mathematical world of probability and methodology; but is it simpler, more refined than that? Or, are we simply over complicating that life is life, and the meaning of that life can be found individually and not from sources of textual knowledge within a book or paper written by the minds that fuel our societal path?
We start where any meaningful person begins. The idea of death. For us as human beings, the concept of death is easy; we live, we die. But do we actually come to realise it? Is it actually something we stop and think about for a second and then suddenly, the light shines down on you. I know that feeling, i went through it and for a second i was in a ‘State of Terror’ (Referencing the way Ernest Becker in The Denial of Death) where you realise that one day, you will actually die and that it, It’s over. Now in Becker’s The Denial of Death Becker resorts to the belief that this State of Terror is in reference to that of an in-ate factor that we need to be something before we die; we need to at least make ourselves a part of something to live on through the ages, even long after we die. But i find this to be just slightly off. Yes, i accept that people do wish to be something more after they have moved on from this world; such as donating a life’s sum of money to a famous charity and being known for years to come as ‘that man who gave to this…’ yet there is something more than the State of Terror, moreover the irrationality of the fear of dying. I believe it is not just as so the State of Terror Becker references, but more of the human incompetence to realise that there is an end. Becker did reference this in his essay, speaking of having an end to create a cause; and i believe this to be more profoundly true in regards to the State of Terror rather than living on long after you die.
By no means am i talking about immortality. Immortality could not be the wish of any self-respecting and intellectual human being because the having a State of Eternity grants you only a certain set of tick-lists before its all done; before you have seen everything there is to see and traveled everywhere there is to go. But this burning in-ate part of the human mind wants to take this latter option to escape out of an inevitable cycle when really, having an end to something gives us more of a push to bring about something worthy in our lives. To get up and go and do that thing that you’ve wanted to do for the longest time, to go and see a friend you have been meaning to go and talk to. The limits of life preserve the factor that you can be everything within a time limit. You do not need a State of Eternity in order to found a push to do something with your life; and this is as well explored as many through The Creation of Meaning in The lily of the Field and The Bird of the Air by Soren Kierkegaard. You have so much in such a small time frame provided by life that the possibility of you doing something worthwhile and enjoyable becomes more highly likely. In reference to one of my favourite pieces of intellectual ‘eye-openers’ by Kierkegaard was the analogy into the alarm clock.
You take a job at a good firm, the pay is good and the your life has been much better working there. To paraphrase. You wake up every morning and go to work on time, always feeling happy. Then one morning, you wake up and feel tired, so you decide to snooze the alarm clock for 10 minutes with the belief that; what is 10 minutes really going to do? And so you get up in 10 minutes time and go to work as usual. A few weeks goes by and you find yourself tired again. How hard is it going to be to snooze the alarm clock again, now that you've already given in to a lower bar?
This is what Kierkegaard believed to be giving into temptation; with the use of Christian faith in his work, Kierkegaard brings about the closest point we have to the knowledge of temptation. Each time you do it and receive no consequence, the bill tallies up until one day, you bid to yourself “I wish i hadn't done that this time.” thats the point you realise that temptation has gotten you. Now, if we take this lesson from Kierkegaard and use it in our own development here, we can disprove the State of Eternity more-so. It can be said that having eternity would remove this bid of temptation, and if you lose your job so be it; I’ll find another one tomorrow; and you would be right in thinking so. But this is not the case if we put the idea of Death on the plate. Knowing that one day we will actually die, and there onwards whatever you may believe in, we will no longer be a part of life. This idea of death therefore, totally removes the sense of “oh well, I’ll find another tomorrow” and gives mankind that kick that they need. “I need that Job, i cannot afford to be without it.” and it worsens with the responsibilities of family and friends or even pets.
But how is this relevant you might ask? Well, in the respect of Becker and Kierkegaard, the relevance that can be drawn here is life. Its meaning.
As i spoke at the start, life’s meaning cannot be founded in books or scriptures, but through the everyday deeds of man; through the humbleness of society (Which we will discuss in another essay) and the way in which we choose to make life worthwhile. Even in the analogy of Becker that we need to preserve something for ourselves after we die so that we live on; this in fact is just another excuse that mankind dreams up in order to not face the true and distinctive fact. You are going to die one day. This is the whole purpose of Religion, to stop the belief in mankind to the object of Death, to keep our minds busy with the knowledge that there is something more than the very very small amount of time that we have left. But this is not the case at all. In order to do something worthwhile to the meaning of life, no matter what age you are; you have to first find Beckers’ State of Terror, and face the object of Death until you can come to the realisation that, “yes. I will die someday. So what do i actually want out of life before it is gone.” And let me tell you, life can throw a curveball whenever it wishes too. One day you may walk out in the road and be flattened by a car; or you may drown in the bath whilst falling asleep. Life is not distinctive and the more we look into it, the shorter it gets. But coming to the State of Terror and facing the object of Death is the way forwards to developing that individual meaning of life instead of flocking like sheep to the nearest shade which blots out the thought of Death in its entirety.
To think, the famous words of Kierkegaard and Becker on the true meanings of life, and as to its creation; can be simplified to our use here when discussing the actual in fact meaning of it. Life is Life. There is no alternative. The meaning that can be made is that of the life in which you choose to live. I see many students starting their lives today in full awareness of what they want to do and then suddenly “Oh wait. I think I’ll play this game for a moment” and then they wonder how their dreams have been shattered. You take your eyes off of what life you want, and it will slip away; and all that meaning and courage you wanted to put into it can be lost within a few bad choices which could have been solved if you founded the courage to actually start thinking, instead of shadowing the actuality.
Thank you.
