2 min read
noun | /ˌpærɪˈdoʊliə, ˌpɛər-/
There is no inherent underlying meaning in anything we interact with every day.
Perhaps it is a painting; perhaps the way the evening light hits the park bench; or how the lines of a building lines up with another creating a pattern, of sorts. It could also be books, the music you listen to or even white noise or artefacts in a particular recording of a particular song. Perhaps I am stretching the definition somewhat but we do tend to seek patterns or meaning in things that may or may not actually exhibit anything “meaningful” about them (depends on what you deem as meaningful, i.e. the philosophies, religions you subscribe to).
I think this is a good thing.
Doing anything for its own sake, in my opinion, makes for the most genuine form of purpose you can give yourself. You can think of: “Why do anything, if not for fun?”. It does not take away the merits of such an endeavour that you choose to take on (whatever those merits that you have applied to it) but instead enhances it. For there is no external factor but itself. This is, dare I say, pure.
It is classically human to look for meaning - a higher purpose if you will. There are a lot of unknowns and we want to make sense of it. You can say that it is fear at the most basic level. I do not think that either approach is necessarily superior to the other. If you are in any one camp however, I think you would be remiss to not take a peek through the bushes to see what is going on in your neighbour’s yard.
-- Erfi Anugrah