You might believe based on the name of my blog that I'm going to be some whiny, emo kid who bitches about life and how everything we do and believe is shit because none of it really, truly matters in the bigger picture. Well if you began reading despite thinking that you are going to be thoroughly disappointed. I graduated with a double major in philosophy and psychology and if there is nothing else that I learned while obtaining my degree it is this: there is always more than one way of looking at things.
For example, what would you say if I asked you what the phrase"nothing matters" means? You might be thinking to yourself "well that's easy it means NOTHING matters." Then you might go off on some existentialist tirade about how God and religion isn't real and we are all hopeless. If that's what you were thinking don't worry, you are not wrong, but what if I told you there are two other ways of looking at this phrase? Now the gears in your head are really turning.
Perhaps you came up with this as another option: Nothing MATTERS. In other words, Nothing is important. That's right, I said it. Perhaps nothing really does matter. Heidegger enthusiasts and eastern philosophy fans may know what I'm talking about. Nothing, in a very abstract sense, perhaps more clearly referred to as THE Nothing, matters. The Nothing is important. In fact, for some it is the most important element of Being, because recognizing the Nothing opens up all of ones possibilities and therefore helps one lead a more authentic life. That seems pretty important doesn't it? If you answered the question above this way then you have obviously done some extremely difficult, but mind blowing reading (e.g. Being and Time by Heidegger or the Tao te Ching).
Finally, a third option (and the one I will most likely be focusing on throughout my entire blog) is this: simply nothing matters, i.e. matters of nothing. What are most blogs anyway? They are the forum in which people share their thoughts and insights about life. When you boil it down to its very essence it is an ongoing discussion a person has with herself about matters (i.e. a situation, state, affair, or business) of nothing (i.e. nothing in particular, just everyday type stuff). So here we have the theme of my blog. I will not claim to have important insights into life, nor the answers to the questions we all have. I am simply a person who wants to say something about the daily nothings that occur so that I feel less alone and perhaps get a few laughs out of it.
My husband has a blog. It is very clever and in it I get the feeling he thinks he knows things others do not (or perhaps don't realize they know it). I think perhaps he does. He definitely knows more about the world/understands things better than I do. He writes with real wit and candor about his daily discoveries and I find it very entertaining (as do many of our friends and essentially anyone who knows him), but it is also educational. It is meant to get people thinking, or even at times to get them riled. He, like myself, is bothered by most peoples' general lack of awareness. Awareness of what? That's a good question and I think that's why he started blogging. Just general awareness seems to be missing in our country, perhaps our world, and it bugs him. He writes to potentially help others feel the discomfort he feels and in doing so maybe change the way things are. It is a noble goal, one I'm not even sure he would admit to, but as I talk to him and read his rants I get the feeling he is on some sort of mission.
My blog is going to be different. I, like my husband, am aware of lack of general awareness around me, however, I am also acutely aware of my own ignorance. There are many things (especially of a social and/or political nature) that if discussed in my presence cause me intense emotional feelings and discomfort. What bothers me most is not that my opinions are not heard or taken into consideration, but that I have such strong opinions about things I really don't know that much about. I fully anticipate sharing those very same opinions on this blog, but I hope that in the process I will discover why it is I feel entitled to those opinions. I want to embrace my ignorance more fully and learn to fill in my knowledge gaps rationally, rather than close myself to educational opportunities because of my emotions. Ultimately, this blog is about acquiring wisdom. It is not the only forum I am using to seek wisdom, however I think it will play an important role in the quest.
So why call it nothing matters? Like I said in the beginning, there are always more than one way of seeing things. This phrase always reminds me of that fact. Having this title will also allow me the flexibility of rambling about nothing in particular (i.e. the third definition listed above: matters of nothing). There is a lot of freedom to choose from a wide array of topics when you promise to write about nothing. That being said I hope that those of you who end up reading this enjoy what you read, but more importantly I hope it helps you keep an open mind. After all, it's so difficult to really, truly keep an open mind these days, why do you think I'm trying so hard right now? If nothing else I hope that at least one person who reads this will look at something he has taken for granted in a new way. If this occurs I will consider this a successful blog.
With that in mind, good luck to both of us and thanks for reading!
In the words of Bill and Ted,
"Be excellent to each other."
