Nihilism is a belief that rejects all religious and moral principles and claims that life, in fact, is meaningless. Friedrich Nietzsche, a German philosopher whose work has exerted a profound influence on Western philosophy and modern intellectual history, is most often associated with nihilism. For Nietzsche, there was no objective order or structure in the world except what we give it. “Every belief, every considering something true, is necessarily false because there is simply no true world". The idea of meaningless life isn’t new. Friedrich Nietzsche was one of many philosophers who promoted it. In 1936, Alfred J. Ayer wrote about his belief that statements about life’s meaning and other philosophical problems are literally meaningless. And in the 1940s, existentialists Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre announced that life has no pre-existing purpose. The sense of meaning is what all people crave for but do not really need.

Nietzsche proposed that there are different types of nihilism, however, we are going to cover only two most well-known concepts: existential and moral nihilism. Existential nihilism simply affirms that life has no intrinsic meaning or value. Life has no meaning. This idea is simple yet people have a hard time trying to grasp the full concept of it. It is understandable as humans are afraid of uncertainty. Most of us need a perpetual hope for tomorrow, something to look forward to and something that gets us out of bed. Ayer, for instance, wrote that “there are many ways in which a person’s life may come to have meaning for him in itself”. Anything that we find worthwhile can be a source of meaning, from child-rearing to stamp collecting.

However, the idea of meaningless life goes beyond that. The beauty of life without a purpose is the power we get upon the realization and acceptance of this simple idea. Once you understand that there is no factual purpose of our existence and everything you do, say, read, or write has ultimately no meaning or necessity, we become the creators, the masterminds, the Gods of our own reality. On a macro-level perspective, you are responsible for their own decisions. Every single choice that you have made throughout your adult life has ultimately led you to where you are right now. People should not blame others for failing and should regret nothing as there are simply no wrong choices. Once you accept the fact that you are not here for any special purpose, you are given an opportunity to construct your life as you desire. To put it simply, “nobody exists on purpose, nobody belongs anywhere, everybody's going to die” (M. Smith).

Why are we in a constant search for meaning? We are always faced with uncertain and unforeseeable questions about life and our purpose here. Arthur Schopenhauer argued that it is “the inevitability of suffering combined with the awareness of the inescapability of death which creates the need for there to be a meaning to life”. There is simply no escape from death and it can be tough to face those questions alone. Albert Camus proposed that life consists of two concepts: the human tendency to find meaning in life and Universe’s complete indifference to our existence. Most of the people who cannot accept our own insignificance have turned to various cults, such as religion for answers about the purpose and afterlife. I believe that adopting a religion or some sort of nebulous “spirituality” amounts to either “intellectual laziness, emotional weakness, or some combination thereof. It is to say that the truth is too difficult to consume and accept and that you’ve chosen to accept something untrue because it is easier” (Miessler). Nietzsche’s philosophical statement "God is dead", demonstrates that the Christian God is no longer a viable source of any moral principles, therefore leading to a rejection of an objective and universal moral law, ultimately turning into nihilism and beginning to acknowledge the abstract value of the world.

The second idea is moral nihilism is the meta-ethical view that ethical claims are generally false. It holds that there are no objective moral facts or true propositions - that nothing is morally good, bad, wrong, right, etc - because there are simply no moral truths. People are constantly limited by judgments, moral values, and certain unwritten rules or regulations. Nihilists claim that all of these concepts are simply subjective opinions, and thus, meaningless. For many decades, the government, society, and religious leaders were enforcing the moral and ethical standards that everyone was expected to follow. The truth is that people’s opinions should mean very little to us in the first place. If one accepts the idea of purposeless life, then other people and their opinions become useless and purposeless as well. A person should focus on making his own life comfortable and unrestrictive, rather than living under an abstractive moral umbrella of society. It does not matter how much money you make, what street you live on, what car do you drive, how many friends do you have, who do you have sex with, what clothes do you wear, what books do you read/what TV shows do you watch, what do you do on your free time, what is your favorite band, how often do you go out and party, what did you eat for lunch, and how much cologne do you use in the morning. It does not matter because we all are going to die alone. Your wealth, lover, and friends will stay here, on Earth. We all will die alone, no matter who you were and how did you live your life. In the eyes of our Universe, we are all dust, surrounded by an infinite number of galaxies with identical dust particles everywhere. Our life has no meaning or purpose and the only thing that we can do is to enjoy the life we are living right now and embrace our insignificance. If you do not like something - say something, if you do not like your job - quit and get a better one, if you are stuck in a wrong relationship - end it, if you do not like the place you live in - move out. There is no defined line between what’s right and what’s wrong, nor is there a universal definition of happiness or other feelings people are constantly in pursuit for.

To fully understand and appreciate the meaningless life, you have to accept it first. Many people mistakenly associate this belief with negativity or even suicidal intentions. This is not the case. Accepting that there is no purpose and appreciating our insignificance actually allows you to explore life in ways you have never thought of before. Understanding that nothing is permanent will allow people to ease up and let certain things go. Since we all are going to die (which is a medically proven fact), we should explore everything that this life and this universe has to offer. Instead of constantly searching for purpose, we should simply do things that we enjoy. Different hobbies and activities that entertain us while we all are on this journey from the womb to the grave.

Non-attachment concept comes to play, however, when people start to associate a particular activity with their “personal meaning of life”. It is hard to stay distant from someone or something we love. However, it is crucial for a successful life. In other words, the activity you choose to do should not become your “meaning of life”, no matter how much you like it or how good you are in it. In fact, searching for the meaning where there is none will make you frustrated, or lead you to join one of the cults for the sense of belonging. Depression and thoughts of suicide are produced by the idea when a particular thing that was associated with your personal meaning of life is no longer there. Once you realize that the beliefs you previously held regarding the meaning of life are false, people jump to conclusion that all beliefs in regards to life purpose are delusional and feel depressed. However, if you accept the idea that life is meaningless beforehand, everything you do will not carry a specific meaning to you and you can change an activity to something else upon its ending, instead of feeling sad or frustrated about it. A German poet Ludwig Jacobowski once wrote, “Don’t Cry Because It’s Over; Smile Because It Happened”. This is an ultimate rule for success and happiness that everybody should follow. Forget about commitment and attachment, and don’t expect things to last; when it comes to an end (youth, relationship, belongings, event, etc.) simply accept it, let it go, and move on.

If you want to practice a certain religion, wear rainbow flags to show your sexuality, change your sex, participate in walkouts, volunteer, visit another state, or do anything that you have not done yet - do it. Be my guest. Morals are just opinions and should not stop you from pursuing your personal happiness. No one has a power to judge you because you take that power away by not even remotely considering these judgments. The art of not caring is a crucial tool to become your own mastermind and find your own moral compass that will provide basic guidance throughout your life. There are no right or wrong decisions or choices because there is no universal truth. There is also no reasonable proof of the existence of a higher ruler or creator, that a "true morality" does not exist, and that objective secular ethics are impossible. Therefore life has, in a sense, no truth and no action is objectively preferable to any other. Two plus two equals five, time is just a metaphorical concept, and Roger Rabbit killed R.K. Maroon. Everything that we learned in school or read on the internet were just subjective opinions of other people (yes, including Bible). How can one claim that there is a meaning and purpose to life if we know nothing about it?

Even if I am wrong and there is, in fact, meaning of life, humans will never find the truth. What is the point of constant search if you cannot be sure that whatever you have found is what you were looking for? An alternative opinion that nihilism offers is to accept the truth that there is no truth and focus on truly important things: living a life of your choosing. When one is not constantly searching for the meaning of life or limit him/herself by the opinions and judgments of others, life itself becomes an empty slate that can be filled with our own reality perceptions and interpretations. You can choose what you want to get your head in, remove things you don’t like, or add ideas and events that add pleasure and happiness to your life. David Roochink once said, “If life has a meaning, then life has a purpose that can be signified or explained”. In order for life to have meaning, it's not enough for it to have a purpose. It has to have a purpose that people are able to signify or identify with. The multi universe is an unpredictable trainwreck where things do not happen for a reason, so buckle up and enjoy the ride.