How to Live Despite the Struggle

(Directory on Nihilism: https://www.philosocom.com/post/the-irony-of-nihilism)

There's a good reason as to why I am not a nihilist. The nihilist sees everything and everyone as equally insignificant, and as a result, the same would be when it comes to premature death. Therefore, should the nihilist not care enough for death, I'd argue that they wouldn't mind departing from life, either.

The quest for meaning, and its attaining, is very crucial when it comes to escaping from death. Therefore! Meaning can be regarded not as only, a form of satisfaction, but also, as a means and justification for continuous survival.

Whenever a bad or unfortunate event happens to you, remember to have a strong and solid source of meaning at your side, one that isn't quick to disappear from your grasp. After all, it can save you from... that. From the ultimate escape, let's call it that.

People might not always find a solid source for meaning. By "solid", I refer to a source that would not get away from you that easily. A romantic partner for example, can always leave the door, should they be willing enough to. Therefore, I wouldn't say that they are a solid source for meaning, when it comes to the functionality, of preserving your own life.

When people say, "I can't live without you", such sayings could be fatal, should the "you" be forever absent... I can testify such hardship from my own experience. Hence why I prefer relying on myself, and not on an external partner, for my quest for self-preservation.

What would be a good source of meaning, that will allow you to better manage against life's struggles? I at least would choose something that is more internal. I chose my ability to write, to fit that role. Even if a rocket from a hostile country may strike my house and cause my apartment to be permanently destroyed, along with my valuables, no rocket can take away my ability to write!

Do you see what I did there? I asked myself the opposite: What can truly take away a source of meaning, which I appropriate for self-preservation? The CLOSER such a source is, to my internal self, the harder it will be, to have it taken away from me, while being alive.

I'd like to give a fictional example. The villain known as Professor Ratigan, might be a pompous, arrogant character, but I do admire the fact that he takes his mind in high regard. Why? Because no matter what would happen to him and to his criminal empire, as long as he was alive, he had his self-praised mind. When you value your mind in such regard, you might also wish to protect it desperately.

Suicide is undesirable! It is a waste of human potential that causes misery to those who have known you! Based on that logic, I see no reason to succumb to it, and thus, I'd protect my own life's significance, with "my teeth" as they say. What is the point of such endeavour, when there isn't a strong enough sense of significance, embedded in it?

This is why, the act of philosophizing for me is also an act for survival. Due to such designation of the niche, there is no reason for me to ever give up on it, despite life's struggles. It is why I write for you as well.

It has nothing to do with arrogance, and it has nothing to do with narcissism. It's simply my way of surviving, mentally, with my thoughts and feelings. Such survival, in my opinion, has every reason to be there. And likewise, I think you can learn from that, as well. Learn to strengthen the core of your existence, by giving it a reason that wouldn't collapse as easily.

No matter what would happen to you, you will always have yourself, when alive. I'm not sure of an afterlife, yes? But if you're with yourself, you can still do things, even if you have chronic fatigue, like me, which have ruined your future!

Remember: In a better world, no one would have a reason to practically "escape" from life, when such reason, is nihilism. One could argue that an existential purpose, justifies life's struggle. Do you see now, why philosophy deserves to be relevant? It can save lives... Like it did, with my own.