While reading Deepak Chopra's book The Seven Laws of Spiritual Success and Hard Core Zen, by Brad Warner, I came across the philosophy of the Absurd. Ever heard of it?
Albert Camus, author of The Plague (which I have read) and The Stranger (which I haven't) and Soren Kierkegaard developed this philosophical idea that man's pursuit of meaning is absurd, because with the amount of unknown, how could one eventual draw a real (true) conclusion. Now, you're wondering where the connection between all these authors come from... Well, one key descriptive sentence does it for me, and Camus says it so well (paraphrased)...
According to Camus, one's freedom – and the opportunity to give life meaning – lies in the recognition of absurdity. If the absurd experience is truly the realization that the universe is fundamentally devoid of absolutes, then we as individuals are truly free. "To live without appeal, as he puts it, is a philosophical move to define absolutes and universals subjectively, rather than objectively. The freedom of humans is thus established in a human's natural ability and opportunity to create his own meaning and purpose; to decide (or think) for him- or herself. The individual becomes the most precious unit of existence, representing a set of unique ideals that can be characterized as an entire universe in its own right. In acknowledging the absurdity of seeking any inherent meaning, but continuing this search regardless, one can be happy, gradually developing meaning from the search alone.My explanation of this: just as Chopra (and Eastern philosophies) would argue the real force of nature and "GOD" is in you. That the meaning inherent to all things begins with your positive or negative connection to this world. It is your own absurdity that truly matters anyway, so why not embrace it, as Camus argues.
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