Positive Realism: Why I’m Content with Nothing

(And Why You Should Be, Too)

Health Services Los Angeles County

At the beginning of my Junior year of high school, while the class was lost between Polytrack.io and the world of electron configuration, my chemistry teacher told me one of the greatest things I had ever heard: we are never getting out of here. Not in the next generation, not in the next century--maybe in a couple hundred years, but not anytime soon. We are all stuck on this big, weird ball, fighting with sticks, and my chemistry teacher is okay with that. He is okay with the fact that he would never live to see us attempt, and probably fail, to colonize Mars or the Moon or some distant planet in a distant galaxy. He was content with nothing.

When you are able to accept the concept of nothing, the idea of being here forever, you’re removing the false safety net that we actively rely on. This intricate web of excuses, of reasons for not acting now, is pulled out from under your feet and hung to dry away from your sight. Its removal forces you to enact change based on the ultimate realization that this is all we get. If you don’t do something now, you won’t do it later.

For example, if you convince yourself that your roommate will do the dishes for you, although they certainly won’t, no dishes will ever get done. Apply that virtue anywhere, and you’ll be content. Don’t convince yourself that your significant other will feed the cat--do it on your own. The rest of the group won’t finish the project; you will. The garbage won’t make its way to the end of the driveway; you have to drag it out there. Train your mind to think that there is no safety net, and suddenly, you’ll realize that there never really was one in the first place.

In theory, the concept of nothing is terrifying. It’s unknown, and the brain is trained to reject the unknown. To invalidate the mere idea of rejection terrifies the brain, which, in turn, results in an intricate web of excuses: “Someone will finish it for me,” “My efforts won’t really count,” and in the case of my chemistry teacher, “We’ll find a way to get off of this planet.” These statements are usually followed by a rhetorical question, like “Why conserve the forests now if we can jump ship later?” or “If my husband drives past the mailbox on his way home, why should I get the mail?”

The exact inverse of this is, in its truest, most raw form, positive realism. While nihilism is a given with reality, existentialism must be trained. It takes time and, as strange as it sounds, strength to view the concept of nothing in a positive mindset. It’s a lesson that everyone should reflect on, whether in the context of relationships or the meaning of life.

If we all considered it, just for a moment, the entire world would be just as content as my chemistry teacher. We would be content with nothing.

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