Wanderers

We are all wanderers. We wander in this vast ocean of baselessness. What I mean is, we live in a mindboggling reality, a bit of a euphemism for me to call it that, where there is no proof of anything which can be considered real. There is no proof because proving means that there is something  tangible in the first place to prove it against. For example, a Fiji apple is an apple because there are other apples to identify itself from be it its taste, texture or shape. But if we were to discuss the idea of the apple being real, we cannot prove that because we do not know what real really means.  We can make assumptions or conditions or requisites for it to be real, but we can never prove that it is real. Same goes for everthing else in this world, which makes the world so baseless and uncertain. Is there religion? Is there Truth? Is there even meaning to life?

Of course, it would be blasphemous of me to say this. Religions dictate that the proof is in everything. The Sun, the systems, the sea, the world. But what is everything if everything may not be real? (Something which cannot be proven to be real does not mean that it is not real.) Strip yourself from purposes, intentions or obligations. What is left of you? If we accept this possibility of life without purpose, intentions obligations, we essentially believe ourselves to be wanderers who are wandering in this empty chasm of possibilities with a consciousness to grasp onto something, anything, which might make our lives sensible. We are wanderingly lost.

Nihilism

Seekers
Most of us are Seekers. Driven by an intent to find for something great, something meaningfully tangible, something which apparently lies in the future. But as relieving as it feels to travel and seek for that elusive point at the end, almost everyone will not be able to find that thing. That something might not even exist. And those who feel or notice things in that way might feel unsettled or vulnerable. But our efforts to seek are not to waste; we gain something in the end. The seekers, at least temporarily, feels content. This period of contentment depends from individuals to individuals. Some may last years. Others a lifetime. That meaningful contentment is really the act of Seeking itself. The journey, which is to seek, is the necessary distraction we require to soothe us in our existentialism conundrum. The search keeps us, at least, temporarily distracted and temporarily okay with our baseless existence.

It is a relieving feeling is it not, to be doing something? Running, talking, ploughing through social media, gaming or planning a wedding or party. And isn’t it a dreadful feeling to not be able to do anything? Just think about your place in this world when you free yourself from the so-called many distractions and just sit there in the stillness of the night. Without distractions like things to do or having purposes, what are you? You can have this mental image of yourself as a thinking entity with no purpose, just nothingness. It puts you in a precarious position. It makes you feel vulnerable. So you do things. The day is full of temporary distractions. Some make goals and life goals and work towards it. A very useful distraction, and a rewarding one at that. Some delves into religion, trying to find meaning and the truth. The source. The answer. Both types of people are Seekers. Their journey is their contentment.

Acknowledgement

Acknowledgement

But there is a second possibility. Acknowledgement. Finding a meaning in someone else. Finding proof in someone else. Finding meaning, finding love. I think love is one of the greatest distraction of all. That pure feeling of contentment which effectively could stop a person from seeking because there is little motivation to continue seeking in the world. Seekers get tired. Seekers get weary. And here, we have a wonderful solution. A person. Here is this similarly lost wandering soul who, of course is as clueless as you are, but the difference is they are the same as you (I hope). They are human, with thoughts, feelings and vulnerability. They are essentially something concrete. If we believe that we exist and that everyone else is created with the same perpetual existence as you are, then they must be the same as you. They must exist. You have to trust  in the idea of him or her being real. Or you can never trust anything else. Being alone in that sense is a scary feeling, because it would mean we are so baseless.

We acknowledge people almost every single day of our lives. Our family, parents, friends and society. The people we interact with on a daily basis. It feels satisfying to be able to interact and get some form of recognition from time to time. We get this feeling that we exist and it gives us a sense of purpose. They are distractions which ease us into a feeling of comfort. When people say it is a dark, dark world outside, I have a feeling they really meant how uncertain the world really is. Not the people, but reality. That is why people form groups. That is why people form families. Comfort in the acknowledgement. Acknowledgment, in the face of uncertainty.

Distractions

Our spouses will be the one risk you take when you step into the uncertainty. In the usual course of things in the modern globalised world system, most of us would be forced into the unknown and into a temporary system created by others to facilitate some form of massive distraction for the entire population. We enter into a production line in a unified human-made world system with the reward being a cure to ease our existentialism problems. They give us distractions. But this system place so much emphasis on Seeking. In fact, the system’s purpose seems to be centred on seeking as the pill and answer to our myriad of problems. So, we continue creating and inventing and “progressing”. Almost no emphasis, as equal in strength as the emphasis to seek, is placed in the power of acknowledgement. I blame global society’s structure on the rise of broken families, marriages and connection. Some factions create a front to encapsulate the lack of acknowledgement as an answer. They strive for “Work life balance”. Some reminisce the past where we go out to play with friends, where the activity itself is a distraction, but at the end of the day, the bonds they form is really acknowledging their other counterparts. 
With so much emphasis in seeking now, it would be an utmost relief, I believe, for many if they could find that soulmate who could create this temporal shell of an escape. The distance society have driven families apart, for the families engrossed in the world’s idea of a system, can now be replaced with the companionship of the other. And that might explain the recent trends of leaving our homes earlier in life and settling down in a relationship later rather than sooner. But of course, the right thing to do is to never let go of your family in the first place. They are the people we fall back on when we are lost in the nothingness. They exist for all we remember.

There might be a case where two persons may not acknowledge the other even after they have professed their acknowledgement for the other. After marriage. That might cause a conflict if one party still wishes to Seek in the unknown while the other seeks to acknowledge and be acknowledged in the other’s presence. The acknowledger would feel lost and distant and that is a cruel thing to happen. The seeker will be fine. He or she will still find solace in their search. The best solution is to of course, compromise. Both parties must set aside a way to seek solace in the other but at the same time, not put too much emphasis on the other to reciprocate as the risk of exposure is too great. The risk I am referring to is, of course, the “temporary distraction” which is the acknowledgment of the other. If one party caves out of this “lie”, there is nothing but baselessness and feelings of loss. The fast remedies would be other forms of temporary distractions.

 So, it does not matter if you subscribe to want to be a seeker or to fall back and find comfort in another. Like I said at the start, we live in a baseless world so as far as rational thought can go there really is no actual right or wrong. The important thing is to find meaning, and keep ourselves sane. Or, have faith, believe in God. I will end off with a quote by Albert Calmus, “Men must live and create. Live till the point of tears.” Or, love till the point of tears.