Nothing Matters
Part 1 of 2
Hey Everyone, hope you’re having a great week.
You know, I heard the skeptics all month long.
“Can a one-year-old who can barely walk really pull off a pumpkin costume? And with a matching hat? I don’t know!”
Dave let The Haters be his motivators when he showed up to daycare yesterday in his pumpkin ‘fit.
Today I want to make the case to you that nothing matters.
Next week I’ll make the case that everything matters.
You don’t need to pick which one you believe. I mean, you can, but that’s not why I’m doing this.
I think both are true. Or rather, I can convince myself in any given moment that either is true. I have found that to be an incredibly helpful tool. Life is tricky. Sometimes it’s helpful to be reminded that everything matters. And sometimes it’s helpful to be reminded that nothing matters.
Nothing Matters
Earlier this week, I had a random health issue that I wanted to get checked out right away (sorry I can’t tell you more as my healthcare is a private matter (it was pain in my right testicle)).
To see a doctor that same day, I needed to cancel a meeting I had scheduled in the afternoon. The meeting was important to me and it had already been pushed back once (by them, not me, for what it’s worth), so I really didn’t want to move it again. I am not a Meeting Mover!
My desire to avoid sending a “Hey, sorry to do this, but. . .” email almost stopped me from seeing a doctor that day.
Moments filled with irrational anxiety happen all the time to me. I get worked up when I feel like I’m running late. I second guess the funny-but-TMI story I told the night before. I feel awful when someone I know from years ago says, “Hey Nils!” and I respond, “Hey…. man!” (wow, this paragraph was painful to even write).
I don’t want to feel anxious or embarrassed or regretful, so when I feel those feelings, I do myself the generous favor of reminding myself that nothing matters. That’s right. Nothing is worth getting upset about.
In 100 years, I’ll be dead. My friends will be dead. You’ll be dead, too (no offense). The people on the call that I needed to reschedule will be dead. Strangers will be living in my house and they’ll be having sex in my bedroom. Gross and disrespectful, really.
In 200 years, if someone were to say “Nils Root” out loud, 100% of the people on Planet Earth would reply what the hell is a nils root?
Even if you manage to “make a dent in the universe,” you’re still going to be forgotten. I doubt many, if any, folks will know who Steve Jobs is in the 2500.
We’re not just insignificant in time. We’re insignificant in space, too.
We live on Earth, which is a small planet that revolves around a star (a star that the Earth could fit inside of 1.3M times). Our star is one of 100-400 billion stars in our galaxy, the Milk Way. If the Milky Way was the size of North America, our solar system would be smaller than a grain of sand. And there are 2 trillion galaxies in the observable universe! Holy shit, why am I even going to work today?
Nothing matters.
I pushed the call and saw the doc. Carl got to watch me get an ultrasound. Everything was fine and normal.
As always, thanks for reading. Have a ball this weekend. -Nils