Murdoch: Comfort and control

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Murdoch: Comfort and control (Photo from pixabay.com)

This is a weekly installment of Craig Murdoch’s column series, “Dazed and Crazed.”

I am going in deep with this one. It seems so impossible to talk about the meaning of life. It is the go to topic when thinking you are discussing something deep but that doesn’t take away from its profundity. It seems like no words anyone could write could do it justice. I will tell you about my own struggle in my search for meaning, what I think it is.

We are often looking for the quickest way to arrive. The quickest, easiest way to arrive at the party. We want to go to the party because we want to have fun, forget about the stress the traffic caused, the guy that cut you off, or how you caught every single goddamn light on the way. You were so stressed out you didn’t notice your favorite song on the radio or the beautiful lights of the city. You passed a hitchhiker who looked devastatingly tired. And though you didn’t realize it you ran over a squirrel. After all of that trouble, you finally arrived at the party. The music was a screechy techno beat, there were only about eight or nine other people there and you didn’t know any of them. The house smelled of mold and the punch was barely punch. The party sucked.

Most of us have some goal we are working towards, but the truth is we never really know if that goal is what we really want. It is a scary thought that we could work so hard towards a goal for years yet be unsatisfied once that goal is met. So I propose that to feel satisfied with yourself, take your time on your journey to just experience life.

Because the truth is life has no real meaning. In a few billion years the sun will explode and everything in our solar system will be wiped out, although I think humans will probably be snuffed out long before that happens. This thought can be overwhelming. So what are we to do?

There is comfort here, none of this matters, so our problems don’t seem like problems anymore. The answer lies within ourselves, what makes us happy? Is it what our grandparents have told us the entire time? Health and happiness. Find someone to enjoy your happiness with, have experiences with and you’re all set for your ride to the party because no matter how many red lights you catch or people who cut you off you’re healthy and with someone who makes everything seem okay. So you’re going a little slower, you don’t hit the squirrel, you invite the hitchhiker to the party, you sing your song, you’re amazed at all the lights in the distance and the immeasurable size of the buildings. Though the punch is sour and you don’t know anyone there, the beat sucks, and the house smells, you can still have fun because you had a good ride over and you’re with the ones you love.

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