Life to the power of one

I came across the tweet which highlights this piece last night.

Sad to say, I've been conditioned by the cesspit which is Twitter to treat any such declaration with vitriol and scorn.

But I caught myself, and decided to read more of the thread. And this person does see nothing but existential dread in his life. That is nothing to be scorned, or, worse, pitied, but to be understood.

And I doubt it's even that uncommon a thought. We live in a world where it seems that our actions and lives have no meaning in the present. Why would they then have any meaning once we've passed on?

I will respond with this: Our lives have the meaning with which we imbue them.

Using my own life, I impact people on a daily basis, total strangers, just by doing my job. I can't tell you the number of times that I've been thanked profusely for figuring out some problem that a patron had which was important to them.

To tie this in with politics, we live in a political sphere where we have certain actors who want us to feel unimportant, to feel as if we have no voice. The MAGA movement isn't one of empowering its members, but of silencing their individual voices in favor of the collective will. We have a system which seeks to control our individuality, to tell us that we can't make a difference in the world or even in our own lives.

As you know, I'm an atheist. I don't have a religious doctrine upon which to fall back to suffuse my life with meaning. So I go by this: You have it in you to make what you will of your life. The meaning your life has is the meaning you give to it. Every person you love, every stranger you affect, gives your life meaning. And that's how you'll be remembered after you're gone.

The world is a frightening place. But one individual, by his or her actions, can change it, even if just a little bit. Don't doubt the power you have in you. Others want to deny you that power; don't let them.