Description
What do I have not doubt about? The reality of suffering. It’s impossible to argue with that. Nihilists cannot undermine it with skepticism, totalitarians cannot expel it, cynics cannot slip out of this fact. Suffering is genuine.
The root of suffering and most major fears lie in the impermanence of existence. This is horror in the face of life determinism, namely the inevitability of death, disappearance. I sketched out three rough categories of how people cope with this on a sopping old napkin while standing at a gas station somewhere at 2:13am in the middle of a cold and lonely wilderness.
The first is oblivion. It requires no much effort, since the brain itself automatically suppresses the thought of an End most of the time - that’s it’s task, a natural evolutionary instinct observed in animals, the boundaries of which we managed to overcome thanks to the emergence of consciousness. This is probably the easiest and most painless fate peculiar to children and some adults, who, remarkably, may never get out of it over the course of their lives.
The truth, usually, despite all the efforts of our most powerful organ, still strives to seep into consciousness, like water through a pile of stones, like nature, which inevitably seeps through everything man has to construct. Seen once, it's hard to ignore and impossible to truly forget. There is no way back. Those who were able to see the whole horror of existence act differently with the knowledge.
Some are looking for a way back to oblivion. They are not willing to accept reality, nor to believe in it, they strive with all their might to return to the carefree bosom of ignorance and unawareness. They become addicted - alcohol, drugs, sex, pop culture, consumption, politics or ideologies - become their meanings and ways to escape. They run from what they see with as much zeal and desperation as they can afford - full time or on Friday evenings. It's a loser race, no matter how fast you run, you will never really hide from the End. Contrariwise, the more effort you put, the faster and closer the End comes. Such an oxymoron.
The next ones choose work. This is a much less counterproductive way to escape the horror of Being. It’s two main directions are creation (созидание) for the sake of distraction and for the sake of immortality. This is any activity aimed at the benefit of the individual, which does not interfere with the fortune of society in order to neutralize both one's own suffering and the suffering of the second. Work immerses a person in a state of flow, where it is eternal and distracted from the horror in the best way possible. Therefore, activity is good, and inaction and laziness will certainly lead to suffering.
The third ones are those who have failed to cope with the suffering of Being. They come to the conclusion that, perhaps, it would be better if this very Existence did not exist. Some flirt with suicide, while others come to something truly monstrous. They turn to the idea of destroying everything. They are playing with genocide, and even worse. «Even dark areas have even darker corners». What is truly horrifying is that such conclusions are understandable, perhaps even inevitable, although not necessarily feasible. In this case, people who have almost reached the threshold of despair kill themselves, and those who reached one kill themselves and the others.
Hatred and contempt for life, even for the genuine pain that life causes, simply serves to make life itself worse, unbearably worse. There is no real protest, no virtue in this, only the desire to create suffering for the sake of suffering. This is the very essence of evil.
Think about what: Everyone in this corner store queue, this classroom or office, your favorite restaurant where you gather with all your family members will surely die. Come to terms with this thought, the more you face it, the less scary it becomes. The easier it is to accept it, live in accordance with and turn this awareness into something good. Everything in this world will disappear, just like everything you and everybody love and appreciate, everything you hold dear will sink into the oblivion of history and no one will remember either the names or the merits, everything will simply dissolve among billions of the same forgotten everythings. It's sad, of course, but inevitable. Its truth.
The best aspect of this tragedy is the real possibility of turning this chaos for benefit, in order to at least somehow level the suffering. Out of this chaos, order can be created, a better order.