Life's but a Walking Shadow: Waxing Philosophic on Day Two

These days, I'm reading a number of "Dad Blogs." I enjoy seeing how other dads tackle writing about parenthood. They're amusing, I'm a dad, and, lately, I've been blogging, too, so it makes sense.  One of my favorites, Backpacking Dad, occasionally turns to philosophical topics, something I never figured I'd do on my blog.

Then this December Writing Challenge came along and already...on day two...philosophy plopped down into my lap to cuddle.

Today's word?

Nihilism.

Yep, that's right...nihilism. I'm pretty sure we have CrazyBastard66 to thank for this.

To make sure I fully understood the word, I headed for the assistance of my friend, the Internet, and came across the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, upon whose pages I found the following:

Nihilism is the belief that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated. It is often associated with extreme pessimism and a radical skepticism that condemns existence. A true nihilist would believe in nothing, have no loyalties, and no purpose other than, perhaps, an impulse to destroy. While few philosophers would claim to be nihilists, nihilism is most often associated with Friedrich Nietzsche who argued that its corrosive effects would eventually destroy all moral, religious, and metaphysical convictions and precipitate the greatest crisis in human history.
...
While nihilism is often discussed in terms of extreme skepticism and relativism, for most of the 20th century it has been associated with the belief that life is meaningless. Existential nihilism begins with the notion that the world is without meaning or purpose. Given this circumstance, existence itself–all action, suffering, and feeling–is ultimately senseless and empty.

There's plenty more to know, but I'm going to push forward with the ideas in the last paragraph: "Existential nihilism begins with the notion that the world is without meaning or purpose."

I start each school year with a discussion of mythology in my AP Senior English class and we use Joseph Campbell's definition--mythology is a set of beliefs true to the people it is about--to guide our discussions. Every fall, then, I get the chance to ponder my beliefs. In doing so, I find myself dipping my toes into chilly thoughts of existence ultimately lacking meaning and purpose. These thoughts resurface later in the year when we watch as Macbeth reflects upon [spoiler alert!] his wife's death:

Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more; it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

Thus, I sometimes end up as I did just the other day, in the home stretch of the daily pick-up adventure pondering the point of humanity. I imagined myself omnisciently watching us scurrying along the roads in our cars, hurrying from place to place, worrying about timeliness and pennilessness and  studliness and every other 'ness' we tend to feel is absolutely important.

I thought about the marvelous world on which we live.

I thought about the amazing set of circumstances needed to bring about life, and the fortuitous fact that they came together here (by some kindlier hand or not).

I thought about the vastness of the universe, which makes us seem so small and insignificant and meaningless.

I thought about the senselessness of all our noise...until a voice beckoned from behind:

Daddy,  why are there clouds?

I explained with more science than Mini-Me probably needed and, in doing so, was brought back into my reality.

A reality where three kids, one phenomenal wife, two Golden Retrievers, two cats, one Koi, and at least one damn mole guide my every decision.

A reality full of noisy little adventures that are funny, sad, frustrating, and inspiring.

A reality where it doesn't matter what place humans have in the greater scheme, because I know my place.

A reality where I have purpose and meaning.