1. Life is absurd...
- Oct 28, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 15
We are born without asking into a species of eight billion individuals spinning on a small rock in a galaxy among trillions, inside a universe that does not care that we exist, or whether we survive.
Yet somehow, within that vast indifference, we become conscious. Conscious of our existence. Conscious of our impending mortality. Conscious of the unavoidable suffering that fills the space in between.
This is the absurd condition.
A conscious mind demanding meaning and certainty while residing in a universe that offers none. We act as if we possess free will, yet we cannot prove that we do. We are intelligent enough to realise we are not the centre of the universe, yet arrogant enough to behave as if we are.
So confronted with this realisation, these are the tried and tested responses:
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1. THEISM ✝️
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Theism reaches for certainty.
It gives you a story.
A purpose.
A plan.
A god who sees you and promises that none of this chaos is random.
And yes — there is comfort in that.
But it comes at the cost of believing without evidence, and not everyone can do that honestly.
Some people try.
Some desperately want to.
Some simply cannot.
Level of Freedom: Low
Level of Authenticity: Low
Level of Difficulty: Low
Biggest challenge: Faith, which is not available to everyone
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2. EXISTENTIALISM ✍️
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Existentialism throws the old stories away.
It says:
“If the universe gives you no meaning, create your own.”
It hands your life back to you.
You become the author, the sculptor, the designer of the world you want to live in.
There is power in that.
But there is danger too.
Because meaning that is built can also break.
And if the meaning you create rests on an illusion — a role, a belief, a story about who you think you are — it dissolves the moment you see through it.
What once felt solid can fall apart overnight.
And when it does, you are left holding nothing but the responsibility to start again.
Existentialism gives you freedom.
But it also puts the weight of that freedom entirely on your shoulders.
Level of Freedom: Medium
Level of Authenticity: High
Level of Difficulty: High
Biggest challenge: Keeping the meanings you invent from collapsing when their foundations are exposed. Because when the illusion dies, the meaning built on top of it dies with it.
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3. NIHILISM ☠️
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Nihilism looks into the void and shrugs.
Nothing matters.
Nothing means anything.
So why bother?
This can feel honest, even liberating.
But quickly, it collapses into emptiness.
If nothing matters, life loses its colour.
Level of Freedom: Low
Level of Authenticity: Medium
Level of Difficulty: Low
Biggest challenge: Avoiding emotional freefall
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4. HEDONISM 🍷
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Hedonism refuses to think about any of that.
Just enjoy yourself.
Chase pleasure.
Chase distraction.
Stay entertained so the void doesn’t catch up.
The problem?
Pleasure ends.
Every high fades.
And the void is always waiting for you in the silence that follows.
Level of Freedom: Medium
Level of Authenticity: Low
Level of Difficulty: Low
Biggest challenge: Not letting distraction become dependence
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5. BUDDHISM ☸️
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Buddhism steps outside the entire game.
It says the self is an illusion.
Your suffering is an illusion.
Your craving for meaning is the problem, not the solution.
Let go of the self, let go of desire, let go of the stories — and find peace.
It is a beautiful path.
But it asks for a level of detachment that most people cannot, or do not want to, reach.
Level of Freedom: High
Level of Authenticity: Medium
Level of Difficulty: Very High
Biggest challenge: Releasing the very identity that wants relief
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6. ABSURDISM 🪨
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Absurdism refuses escape.
It sees the universe clearly.
It sees the mind clearly.
It accepts both without flinching.
The universe has no meaning.
We want meaning anyway.
Both things are true, and both must be lived with.
Absurdism does not ask you to believe.
It does not ask you to invent.
It does not ask you to surrender the self.
It asks you to look reality in the eyes and live fully in spite of it.
Because meaning is not “out there.”
Meaning is not hidden in the stars or waiting in a plan.
Meaning is something the mind experiences in moments of awareness.
It manifests when we live with purpose, when we pay attention, when we engage with life instead of hiding from it.
This is why Camus gives us Sisyphus.
A man condemned to push a rock forever.
He knows it is meaningless.
He knows it will never change.
And still, he chooses to push.
In that choice, he becomes free.
Absurdism is not about escaping meaninglessness.
It is about living well within it.
Living defiantly.
Living intentionally.
Living awake.
Level of Freedom: High
Absurdism offers freedom without illusion.
You are not bound by doctrine, destiny, invented meaning, or denial.
Nothing is prescribed, and nothing is promised.
You are free precisely because there is no script.
Level of Authenticity: Very High
Absurdism refuses comforting lies.
It does not soften reality, outsource responsibility, or dissolve the self.
It demands that you live in full awareness of the tension between your needs and the world as it is. This is authenticity without an escape hatch.
Level of Difficulty: Very High
Absurdism is psychologically demanding.
It requires the capacity to hold contradiction without resolving it.
To act without guarantees.
To remain engaged without consolation.
Most people understand absurdism intellectually.
But only few can live it consistently.
Biggest challenge: Sustaining engagement without meaning collapsing into despair or distraction
The danger is not nihilism.
The danger is fatigue.
Living without metaphysical comfort requires continual attentiveness.
When awareness slips, people drift toward distraction, invention, or belief.
Absurdism must be lived deliberately or it quietly evaporates.
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If any of this unsettles you, good.
It means you’re paying attention.
It means something in you refuses the comfort of easy answers.
And if you want this insight woven into your daily life, you can wear it on your chest or hang it on you wall as a visual reminder.
It won’t give you meaning.
It won’t give you certainty.
What it will give you is a clearer way to stand in the truth without collapsing.
For those who want to dig further into the philosophy of absurdism, here is a video.
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