{"id":124398,"date":"2019-01-03T17:00:28","date_gmt":"2019-01-04T01:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=124398"},"modified":"2019-01-03T17:01:15","modified_gmt":"2019-01-04T01:01:15","slug":"anti-nihilism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2019\/01\/03\/anti-nihilism\/","title":{"rendered":"Anti-Nihilism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is the worst malady in the modern world? Nihilism (the pathetic philosophy that says life isn’t worth living).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

What is nihilism?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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‘Nihil’ in Latin means “nothing”. Thus nihilism is the philosophy of ‘nothingness’. The idea that because there is no God– what is the purpose of being alive? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nihilists will often say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wish I were never born.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Also,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wish I were dead (yet I don’t quite want to commit suicide).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Nation of sedation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Thus what happens? Most of us sedate<\/a> ourselves with drugs, entertainment, alcohol, social media, on the (slow) march towards death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most nihilists try to live life like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To keep living with the least amount of pain until they die.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Where does nihilism come from?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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A lot of people look at pain, suffering, and ‘evil’ in the world, and ask themselves:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why does pain, suffering, and evil exist in the world?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Many people who were raised Christian, then start to question their belief in god by thinking to themselves:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If God truly existed, why would he allow pain, suffering, death, and injustice to exist in the world?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Most Christians have the faulty notion that God is some Zeus-like character with a white beard, chilling in a cloud somewhere, governing the world’s affairs. And that he somehow ‘allows’ pain, destruction, death, and injustice to happen in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does a God-less world look like?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Now, let us imagine that you don’t believe in a “God” anthropomorphized as a wise man, who controls and governs the affairs of human beings. If so, how do you live your life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lot of people get very very afraid of this notion: because it means that the world is cruel, unjust, and dangerous. It means that you are 100% responsible for your own life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of us Christians like to ‘outsource’ our concerns and worries to God. We pray for our conditions to improve, and we hope in a better future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belief in God(s) isn’t bad.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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I think that for most people, belief in God(s) isn’t a bad thing necessarily. Belief in religion and superstition allows most people go on with their everyday lives, with joy, self-confidence, and faith in themselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, if you consider yourself ‘agnostic’, ‘atheist’, or whatever– how do you live in this world? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And this is the problem: a lot of ‘atheists’ end up becoming nihilists. Why? The mentality that, “You’re going to die anyways– what is the point of life?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why I am anti-nihilist<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Full disclosure: I was born and baptized Catholic, and am still a practicing Catholic-Christian (yes, Catholics are christian).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, I don’t believe in a lot of religious superstition associated with the Christian faith, or notions of ‘God’ as many other Christians understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For myself, the reason why I am a Catholic is because I believe in (most) of the beliefs of the Catholic church, and I admire the courage of Jesus Christ (and his teachings).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But with my personal philosophy, I don’t think the ultimate purpose of life is to ‘spread the good news of God’, nor is it to convert the whole globe to become practicing Christians. Furthermore, I don’t believe there is an ultimate ‘purpose’ of life; I believe that it is our duty to create our own purpose(s) in life — we are the ultimate judges and creators of our own (new) table of values<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It don’t matter if you believe in “God” or not; the fact and truth is that you’re alive, breathing, and life is the ultimate<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will die.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The only truth is that one day you’re going to die (maximum lifespan of humans is ~120 years). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you’re reading this, you’re alive and breathing. So the question is this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a world where it is uncertain when I will die, how should<\/em> I live my life?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

You must decide for yourself how to live your own life.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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A question:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you know that you have 100% control over how to live your own life; is this an empowering thought, or a depressing thought?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you like having the option of living life according to your own standards? Do you have enough courage to create your own table of morals and ethics for yourself, and to obey yourself?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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My personal take<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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I cannot speak for you, but I can speak for myself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For myself, being alive is the greatest fucking blessing ever conceivable. You can technically do anything you desire, and there are no limits to your activity (except yourself).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I personally treat reality as my own personal playground; for me to have fun, for me to discover new truths, and to share these ideas with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We desire control.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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At the moment, I am ‘location independent<\/a>‘, have ‘financial independence<\/a>‘, and this is interesting:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every morning when I wake up, I ask myself: “What should I do today?”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I almost never plan a day before, besides things like teaching workshops<\/a> and certain travel obligations (aligning to Cindy’s schedule). I got no boss to answer to, I don’t check email, and I don’t check social media. So what do I do with my day? Whatever I desire!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ideal day for me.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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What do I desire? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Go to the gym and do deadlifts<\/a>, squats, dumbbell press, chinups, listen to music, think, zen out, enjoy the sauna and go home.<\/li>
  2. Come up with spirited and ‘turbo thoughts’ which interests me intellectually. Then to put these thoughts into words (blogging<\/a>) or in video format (vlogging<\/a>).<\/li>
  3. To make artwork: Make artwork with my photos, with my beats<\/a>, to make poetry<\/a>, make illustrations, make sketches<\/a>, etc.<\/li>
  4. To walk around, and think.<\/li>
  5. To publish information and knowledge I’m proud of.<\/li>
  6. To keep pushing my personal limits<\/a>, and enjoy some nice coffee (preferably visit a coffee shop during the day).<\/li>
  7. Going to sleep, feeling triumphant, like I squeezed out all the maximum productivity I was possible of; going to sleep with a clear mind that if I died tonight, I would be happy with what I did with my life.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    In praise of individualism<\/h2>\n\n\n\n