when i detect nihilism in my internal environment, notice it creeping around, i try to remember that it is directly correlated with stress. i remember feeling a great deal of relief when i first learned this, long ago, in the summer of 2021. i felt kind of seduced by nihilism, enamored and intimidated. i was taking some kind of nervous system first aid webinar in Berkeley, California, in my sunny sunny bedroom. i watch a lot of webinars. my sister made a song about it. i Love To Learn, it’s true, and also i feel Deeply Unnerved by this existence and am still holding out for the possibility that more information will deliver me from evil (which might just be human pain...)
the next step in the process is to see if i’m stressed, which, in a shocking twist, i often am. the next step is to get a grip or ask for help or do anything that people do to get from one sunrise to the next.
the thing about nihilism is that futility is never far behind it, and futility leads to stagnation, being stuck. exhaustion and futility are also mutually reinforcing. this mix is emotional/spiritual quicksand.
for me, nihilism is dangerous not only because it is always egging on futility (Life Is Meaningless/Pointless - so anything i might do is pointless or what i’m doing is pointless, etc). it is also risky business because in trying to temper it sometimes i fall into the W.hat I.s T.he M.eaning O.f L.ife T.rap. that’s where you try to figure out the meaning of life and put a lot of pressure on every single thing you do by assessing whether it is worthwhile/ethical/helping anyone/making you better/making you worse/blah blah blah BLAH (hey where’s everyone going??).
having spent my share of time (and energy) in WITMOLT i would not recommend it. this is not to say that life doesn’t have meaning, or that i don’t need meaning (i love meaning). it is to say that guesses made while stressed/nihilistic/exhausted/crushed are probably going to be bad.
so next time i, or you? are in WITMOLT please, maybe you, or someone? can just say hey!!! get out of there!!!! it’s going to swallow you whole!!!! and it’s almost time to leave for the movies!!!!!
Art 🤌🏾