Existentialism. What a fun word to say. I've been having existential crises since high school (or so I used to say) with very little knowledge about what that word, existentialism, actually meant. When I finally learned what it meant, I was honestly pretty intimidated. If you give it a quick Google search, you'll get something like this:
a tradition of philosophical inquiry that explores the nature of existence by emphasizing the experience of the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual.
I know. It's kind of a lot to think about. But after a semester reading famous existentialist philosophers like Kierkegaard, Sartre, and Dostoevsky, I've come to realize that the philosophy, at its core, is a lot simpler than that.
Existentialism strives to answer the following question:
What does it mean to live a meaningful life?
Now, if you're not so much into philosophy, you might be wondering why I'm talking about all of this. You've come to my blog to learn about femininity and personal growth, not a 19th-century school of thought.
But the thing is if you're reading this blog, you are into philosophy. Maybe you just don't know it yet. Philosophy comes from the Greek words philo, meaning love, and sophia, meaning wisdom. It literally translates as "the love of wisdom." If you're someone who enjoys reading blog posts, then you're someone who enjoys partaking in others' wisdom. You don't necessarily have to care about Plato (though he is a lot of fun) to be into philosophy.
Now back to existentialism.
Why should you care?
Well, why do we choose to cultivate our femininity? Why do we seek to develop ourselves physically, mentally, and spiritually? Why do we go to church, read the Bible, do our jobs, spend time with our families, or pursue our hobbies?
We do those things because they provide our lives with meaning.
And the things that give us meaning structure the way we perceive our past, the way we exist in our present, and the way we plan for our future. Whether you've been a fan of existentialism for a while now or this is your first time reading a definition of the word, you are trying to create a meaningful life for yourself. I know that because we all are.
I look forward to seeing you in the next post! As always, stay lavender!
— Theresa
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