I had one of those deep late-night conversations with my friends recently, the ones that randomly start with future plans, and suddenly you’ve switched gears and are now debating about all of the injustices of the world. Somehow, a 30-minute catch-up session turned into a 3-hour podcast-worthy therapy session where you ask yourself why you or your friends never thought of pursuing politics.
The entire conversation revolved around one statement that was made: “Nothing matters.” The control freak in me couldn’t quite understand how that could be true until my friend who made the declaration explained it in heavy detail.
If you think about it, things, places, and emotions all have meaning because we give meaning to them. The same thing goes for things, places, and emotions that seem important to us. I quickly realized that no matter how small things are, it’s still in our hands to choose what’s worth our time and energy.
When we choose something that matters to us, concern about it always has to come from someone. Hence, when I say something matters, I’m saying it matters to me. I envy people who seem to possess the incredible ability to live life without experiencing the occasional existential crisis. I realized, however, that it’s their decision to not focus on crises and I’m making the decision to choose it. I also have the option to focus my energy on something that does not disturb my peaceful existence.
For the statement “nothing matters” to be true, it would have to be true that the one who makes the statement is not concerned about anything at all.
https://daily-philosophy.com/hauskeller-nothing-matters/
Nothing intrinsically matters. We choose what emotions deserve to be seen, what political issues are worthy of importance, who we want to spend time with, and simply what we choose to do on a day-to-day basis. Everything exists in this world, and it’s up to us to choose what matters.
It’s on us to choose what to get excited, frustrated, upset, and angry about. So as you begin this new semester, think about what’s truly important to you. What actually deserves your time and attention? Not everything does; it’s a decision you have to make, and what better time to reassess than the beginning of a new academic year? Take some time to assess whether the important things in your life truly make you happy. If not, it simply doesn’t matter, and the best part is that you get to choose something new that does.