Lockdown Meaning: Nihilism Isn’t What You Think
Life lost its meaning in lockdown? Or did it lack meaning all along? Nihilism gets a bad rap—but maybe it’s holding the key to true freedom.
Nihilism isn’t a judgment; it’s a description. Like saying water is odorless, it states a neutral fact: life has no preordained cosmic purpose. We paint meaning onto the world—not the reverse. Your career goals, relationships, passions—they’re human-made frameworks brimming with significance, yet the universe itself remains silent about purpose.
This clarity is liberating. When we treat life’s meaning as self-defined, we reject toxic hierarchies. Einstein’s brilliance doesn’t make his life “more meaningful” than a dedicated caregiver’s. Society’s obsession with grand narratives reduces human value to productivity, pitting achievers against “unfulfilled” lives. Worse, secular substitutes for cosmic meaning—like technologically “perfecting” humanity—fuel hubris (e.g., eugenics). Nihilism disarms this: we’re not characters in a cosmic plan, just agents crafting meaning locally.
Lockdown exposed this beautifully. Virtual meetings held meaning; canceled weddings held meaning. Life’s meaning isn’t erased when contexts shift—it adapts. Nihilism’s “problem” isn’t meaninglessness but the fear of it. We cling to cosmic meaning for security, yet its absence allows authentic ownership of purpose.
Morality thrives without it too. Rejecting divine purpose doesn’t reject ethics—it grounds them in human empathy. If Hitler’s “impact” could be labeled “meaningful,” the label itself is the flaw, not nihilism.
So, find peace in the silence. Existence isn’t meaningless; it’s a blank canvas. Your goals—big or small—fill it. That’s nihilism’s gift: the courage to paint without a preordained masterpiece. Your lockdown experiences didn’t steal meaning; they proved your power to create it.
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