The Flat Earth

"The meaning of our existence is not invented by ourselves, but rather detected."

"What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general, but rather the specific meaning of a person's life at a given moment."

"We can discover this meaning in life in three different ways: (1) by doing a deed; (2) by experiencing a value; and (3) by suffering."

-Victor Frankl, from Man's Search for Meaning

Sometimes I feel trapped by the expectations of our society, but so much of it is lies. Commercialism feeds on all levels of our society, from the yuppie to the goth, the doctor to the dishwasher. We are told what to like and feel, but in time, you realize it was just a lie, maybe a lie to suppress our angst and calm us, but still a lie to subdue. I guess the best word for it is hype.

We suffer with the questioning of ourselves and our purpose. We beat ourselves up on what we should be doing and how we should act, reinventing ourselves in hopes of finding that ever-elusive moment of contentment. I am starting to believe that moment never comes. We entertain ourselves numb due to that realization, accepting that contentment will come knocking on its own behalf, but it won't.

Our search for answers and meaning lead us to false assumptions. When you look back in history we chuckle at those who tortured, killed, and imprisoned those who believed the Earth was round, but our humanistic nature to follow others would have placed us in the screaming crowd, too. The history of man is littered with mistakes and assumptions that we look upon and say, "We know better now." But we don't.

I think that we will also be the bearers of laughs bestowed upon us by the future generations: thinking pills could solve everything, killing each other about slight variations in religion, and inventing the idea of the "Summer Blockbuster". All are meant to make us feel right momentarily until the next generation takes over the battle.

American culture always deals with the after-effects of our decisions; we don't tend to prevent. The only answer I see that is remotely close to ending the anxieties we experience is The Four Noble Truths (click here to read them). We will suffer and we will question ourselves, and by accepting that suffering, only then will we move beyond our never-ending circle of despair. Forget the pills, it is ok to suffer.