Accept the absurd then defy it.

Principle 1: Accept the absurd then defy it.

This is the first tenant of my philosophy and more than likely will be the most difficult for me to define, or even argue in favor of.

And why? Because this comes naturally to me. One thing I’ve noticed when reading the philosophy that I do is that many of the thoughts, feelings, stresses I have already have been put into words over and over and over again.

Schopenhauer intrigued me first. The idea of an unconscious, illogical “will” that connects everything FEELS like it should have more meaning than a life absurd but one thing that’s important with philosophy (to me) is context.

Schopenhauer was a fraud. Maybe he was smart, who cares. He was rich, he felt bad that he was rich by nothing of his own doing, and came up with ideas that made him feel better about himself. Detachment from society isn’t a solution.

This led me to Camus. Camus’ idea of the absurd and the way his stories show you how it comes out connected with me instantly. Between “The Myth of Sisyphus and other essays,” “The Stranger,” and “The Plague,” I was immediately struck with the notion that hey, this is how I think.

Everything is random, embrace that. Nothing has meaning, give it meaning. Humanity is doomed, love humans.

Accepting the absurd doesn’t mean to withdraw because what’s the point if it’s all random. It means living more. That’s the revolt.

My living more means reading, and aimless walks, and photos, and my cat, and baseball, and many many things that those who will never have enough cannot be happy with. And that’s ok.