Day 6 The Week of Isms

I need to retract my sarcasm from yesterday. Having spent a (very hung over) day musing on a new perspective and ‘what would Pooh do?’ I’m ashamed to say I realized they’re both highly relevant and intriguing contenders for approaching life from a new angle. Who knew Pooh is Taoism personified (bearified?)?? Ok, probably quite a few people considering the success of Hoff’s book The Tao of Pooh. And Bond is a bit of a philosophers dream, representing everything from existentialism, Nietzsche’s Übermensch, going ‘beyond good and evil’, to Plato’s Guardian. None of which I’d particularly like, or even find realistic, to live my life by. But Taoism is attractive – and has inspired The Week of Isms.

Ism number one: Absurdism.

Always been fond of the word ‘absurd’. As I dragged my awkward limbs through teenage years, a key source of embarrassment was the rather archaic choice of words Dad chose to use. As a result, ‘absurd’, ‘ludicrous’, and ‘how much did that cost’ featured heavily.

The Danish philosopher Kierkegaard initially discussed absurdism in the 19^th century, forming an essential part of the existentialist movement. It's basically quite a depressing thought - the absurd refers to the dissonance between human search for meaning and the apparent meaningless nature of the universe. Picked up 100 years later by the rather suave Frenchman Albert Camus (if you squint when you look at the photo he could almost be James Dean, and trust me for a philosopher to even come close to that is A Rare Thing. Incredibly brainy they are, male models they are not). Camus decided, on closer examination, that in order to give life meaning in cold hard universe, you simply had to recognize the absurd. In recognition of this, you are free to create your own meaning.

I would like to point out here, and I can see this being a feature of The Week of Isms, that I am merely skimming the surface of what are painfully deep and complex philosophical musings that not only give me brain ache but, in light of this mission for Lent, detailed exploration of which isn't that applicable to finding a rule to live a day by.

Anyhow - essentially, my search for happiness and meaning is absurd but I'm going to carry on regardless and in doing so will create my own meaning. Actually, I quite like this. It's not imposing one objective meaning on life and although there is a disheartening futility to accepting we live in a world without purpose it is in turn saying life is a blank canvass, go forth and create a big messy painting that might mean bugger all to anyone else but as long as you find meaning in it, great work. It is, as with existentialism, ending with the belief we are all free.

Camus doesn’t view the concept of ‘life has no meaning’ as something to be sad about, rather something that should inspire a greater appreciation of being alive and being happy. So today I will accept the absurd, create my own meaning, and generally - in the face of a rain-soaked morning and nada but hard work ahead of me - enjoy being alive.