Typically I would not talk about my personal beliefs as they are personal to me and do not affect anyone else; however, I have noticed a change in the culture of students around me. It seemed as though my classmates had doubts about the importance of many human constructs, which lead me to having a nihilistic awakening and a changed view on life. I am writing this article in an effort to help them through what they are dealing with.
A nihilistic realization in certain contexts doesn't necessarily mean you have broken faith. I have come to understand that life in its daily routines and mundanities doesn't necessarily have any great deal of meaning. I think a lot of people, especially at my age, start to struggle with the concept of money. We begin to think about how these numbers we have collected, have value, and that leads to further realizations about meaninglessness in life. If such a main part of so many people's lives really has no value other than collective agreement, and really money is as moral as we are. We get to the point where we start to think life itself is essentially meaningless; this is not necessarily true – in some regards, it is and, in some regards, it is not.
This is where optimistic nihilism becomes pragmatic. The only part of life that has value is the part that you decide to give value. Life and all its intricacies, despite being minimal in the grand scheme of things, is incredibly beautiful. When you appreciate life for its beauty and not some grander thing, then you can be more optimistic relative to the nihilism. The pressures of wanting life to be something it is not dissolve and life can be appreciated for what it is, an amazing experience.
I believe my personal situation can help people. I have come to the conclusion that I still believe in a greater being and that there is some course of action that is being laid out for me; everything happens to teach me something or bring me somewhere. I believe that there is a higher power and I maintain my nihilist skepticism relative to human constructs.
I should explain what I mean by human constructs, nations, currency even race only really exist because, as a people, we have agreed they exist, that is what I mean by human constructs. What does it matter? What does it matter what side of a made up line you were born on, or how much of an amino acids exist in your skin cells?
There are still certain aspects of religion that I cannot or do not want to get rid of. That maintained connection has blended the lines between nihilism, which is typically an atheist belief, and religion. For me, at least.
I hope that my experience will help my fellow students who are dealing with nihilist ideas that has made them believe they have broken faith for questioning meaning in the world.