this post was submitted on 20 Aug 2023
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I had a favorite quote growing up. I'm not sure if it's still my favorite today but it was
Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding. โ Albert Einstein
If I had to choose a quote today it would probably be the one that goes something like "What you do in life is ultimately insignificant but you should do it anyways"
What the 2nd quote means to me is that that isn't really a great plan or some special meaning to life. We just exist without any specific purpose. But you shouldn't let this fact bring you down.
Personally, I choose to believe that my existence is an improbability, much like winning the lottery. And this I want to enjoy my time alive as much as I can.
The quote also has a 2nd meaning to me which is that nothing we do really matters so I should just relax be more easy going.
I think I like the second quote more today because I think people today are too on edge all the time. I think a lot of people need to just chill. There's so many things wrong with the world but so many things are outside of our control. Sometimes it's good to just take a step back and relax.
On the topic of "nothing really matters" I would agree, but add that everything does matter. :)
With infitite sums you can re-arange the order of the added numbers (e.g. by placing brakets) and thus change the result (on YouTube there's a video about this, called something like "infinity minus infinity = pi").
In this picture, I see our lifes as sets of layered brakets in an infinite sum. A single contribution is almost neglectable, but it is not zero. Hence, I don't really matter, but still, I should try to do good, try to have a positive influence on my sourrounding braket and myself, at least a little.
Who knows what it might add up to.
On the topic of "nothing really matters", my read on it is that nothing we do will prevent the heat death of the universe. At some point all possibilities will start to collapse into one final outcome.
My drive to "do good" stems from my desire to give everyone their best shot at pursuing their own happiness. But I don't really believe there is some ultimate goal for humanity like some video game.
I like that.