One writer considers the philosophical ideas of Nietzsche as they relate to contemplating the meaning of one’s existence.
What options do humans have for survival at a time that looks destined for self-destruction?
John Kaag posed this query in his book, “Hiking with Nietzsche.” Perhaps it is not at all surprising that that question is present in that book given that Nietzsche is a major focus of it. The question prompted me to consider the idea of developing my own personal meaning or purpose in order to combat the nihilistic nature of current existence. Nihilism is the realisation that there is no overarching goal or meaning to life, whereas existentialism suggests that you can create your own meanings through the decisions you make in your daily life, potentially relieving the mental pain associated with life’s purported meaninglessness.
I read Kaag’s book immediately after finishing Irvin Yalom’s “When Nietzsche Wept.” The latter book was my travelling companion earlier this year as I was roving around Turkey. If you read on, the relevance of this will become more apparent.
It’s probably not a coincidence that I was drawn to Nietzsche’s particular brand of nihilism and ensuing existentialist attitude through the two novels described above. I can say that with confidence because of the sayings of two great master philosophers: Master Oogway of Kung Fu Panda said, “There are no accidents,” and Socrates said, “An unexamined life is not worth living.” Ikigai, Stoicism, Taoism, Sufism, and other isms are just a few of the paths I’ve taken along the way to Nietzschean philosophy as I’ve sought out and searched for life’s meaning and purpose using modern methods.
Despite the fact that the two novels are essential of different genres, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, who unites them, effortlessly conveys the philosophical and intellectual tour de force that he genuinely was, is, and will be. German philosopher and cultural critic Nietzsche is most recognised for his works from the late 1800s. His ability to influence intellectual thought, or the 20th-century worldview leaking into the 21st century, is proof that he was much ahead of his time. In other words, Nietzsche, among a select few others, has contributed significantly to philosophy in our postmodern, late-capitalist age.
My top six points from Nietzsche’s philosophical corpus, in no particular order, if I were curating my reading of “all things Nietzsche,” would be:
- Developing your identity
- Eternal repetition
- God has died (figuratively)
- dying when it’s appropriate
- The deepest solitude
- Nothing is absolute.
Since each subject needs its own essay to be properly addressed, there is a wealth of online and offline information (also known as books) available for the reader interested in specifics. However, as was stated at the beginning, the connection to Turkey is significant in light of the adage “nothing is everything.” For a public health symposium, I travelled to Gaziantep, a little town close to the Syrian border. After that, I travelled to Konya on my own schedule. I travelled across great distances on an intercity bus as part of my pilgrimage to the “country of Rumi.” In retrospect, Jelaluddin Rumi and Shams Tabrizi merely extended an invitation to visit Konya, which was inevitable given my years of research into the idea of spiritual fellowship found in Sufism. During my extensive walking between the tombs of Rumi and Shams in Konya, while also reading Nietzsche and sipping endless Turkish chai, I came to this conclusion. Because the human situation is, after all, comparable, if not the same everywhere, it was a thorough dive into both Eastern and Western intellectual philosophy.
The ring I discovered there was one of the most amazing convergences I had while ambulating—it wasn’t just a random coincidence, mind you. It’s a stunning silver ring that looks a lot like The Ring from The Lord of the Rings and has the Farsi word “Heech” engraved on it. Heech can be rendered literally as “nothingness” in the literary canon of the Rumi/Shams. Nietzsche makes reference to the “everyness of nothingness,” which states that one’s life is nothing more than a spark in the vacuum, making it significant in its insignificance.
Nietzsche’s nothing is everything and the Rumi/Shams ring, as I now refer to them, were both discoveries that I made at the same time. Then, everything just clicked into place. I was able to confront my existential crisis, which was nihilism. I also realised that in order to truly be humble, I had to be vulnerable and surrender to the universe.
It’s amazing how my nihilism was addressed in part by the “Innovation, Creativity, Entrepreneurship” (ICE) curriculum. In conclusion, everything mentioned above helped me discover meaning in the absence of meaning.
It’s not as simple as the aforementioned may imply, mostly because nothingness is terrifying and invariably results in one’s sense of worthlessness. However, certain Sufi masters—Nietzsche is also Sufi in some ways—have pondered the same issue and offered brief solutions to it.
“You have to experience your own emptiness. Because you are not obtaining what you desire, you are confused, and this leads to a feeling of worthlessness that you both feel and do not want. Both the things you desire and the things you don’t want will test your patience, so try to be patient with both. Exercise both types of patience to earn the title of human being, according to Bayazid’s quotation from Sufi saint Attar.
A difficulty of perspective, as Sheikh Saadi noted below in his description of a raindrop employing the Persian poetic device of a pearl as a transformed raindrop
“A raindrop that fell from a cloud”
Was disturbed by the extent of the sea:
“If the grandeur of the ocean, who am I?
If IT IS, then I most certainly AM NOT!
While viewing itself with a contemptuous look
- It was nurtured within a shell.
- Things were fostered by the heavens.
That it rose to fame and became a royal pearl:
- transforming from a low to a high
- It rang the doorbell of emptiness.
- Up till the advent of Being.
A reoccurring subject, keeping in mind the human condition, is finding meaning or purpose while navigating the meaninglessness of emptiness. It is a fundamental human theme. The chaotic 21st-century lifestyle under the constant threat of environmental calamities, however, has made it more relevant than ever.
Although strange, the similarities between Nietzschean Western philosophy and Eastern Sufi thought are extremely satisfying. Nietzsche’s nihilism intriguingly led to a pro-existential, anti-nihilistic process in me, and I’m still learning from it.
In the end, although it might not always lessen my daily hardships when Nietzsche and Rumi meet within, it enables me to accept difficulties as a necessary part of living completely – in and for the moment – and to appreciate life for what it is as opposed to what it could be.
