Life Exists in Life

It is not anymore a quest for truth. It is a quest for meaning. It is not about the
what. It is about the what for.
Nietzsche, in his account Thus Spoke Zarathustra, implicitly stated truth being
a construct. Philosophy for this existentialist does not aim to acquire wisdom or
knowledge, instead, philosophy is dwelling in the abundance of life and living with
human conditions. It is staying on earth. This is apparent when Zarathustra
questioned the acetic he saw when he was on his way to the city from the mountain.
He asked the old man why he wanted to separate himself from earth. This kind of
perspective, for Nietzsche, is not what life is all about. Also, Zarathustra preached
about the overman: a stage wherein the human being has overcome being man.
Thus, Nietzsches take on existentialism is clear in his account. Human beings are
not the final product. There is so much more to become than being human per se.
I believe that this applies to life, as life is not merely a scenery of nature in a
photograph, instead, life has a visible horizon in the picture. When you look at this
horizon, it seems like it is simply a line in the photograph, but this horizon depicts
more space, further distance, and infinite possibilities beyond the whole picture. We
see life as just life, and more often than not, we unconsciously neglect what it can
become and what it can be. There is more life to life.
I strongly agree with Nietzsches view on existentialism. Existence is not
solely knowing what I am or who I am, because this means that existence is just
finding oneself in the world. It is more than that. Existence is determining what I can
be in the world and what the world can be to me. Existentialism is a two-way thing,
as it is the interaction between the human being and human life. Therefore, I
respond to it in such a way that throughout the span of my existence, I am in the
pursuit of becoming, living with however life can become, while staying on earth and
appreciating the very idea that I am and I can become.
For instance, when I was in sixth grade, I struggled with bone infection.
Because of this, I had to undergo three bone surgeries, leaving a big scar on my left
leg. I had to be physically absent from school for about two months to treat the
infection. This happened when I was graduating in grade school, a time when it was
supposed to be about triumph and celebration. At that point, what I was going
through was the opposite of how it should be. It was indeed melancholic.
 It was not easy for my 11-year-old self back then, because as I child, I had
always tried my best to work hard academically, thinking that earning academic
merits makes my parents proud and happy. When I was in the situation wherein I
was a candidate for honors, but I had to remove school out of the picture to attend to
the illness I had, it felt like my world was torn apart. Everything I worked hard for may
not turn out the way I wanted it to be, simply because I was in a condition that I did
not choose. This time, the power wasnt in my hands.
In all honesty, I did not know what to do. It happened around early January,
roughly two months before graduation, and a period wherein a lot of requirements
needed to be submitted. To be able to comply with the requirements, I did projects at
home with the help of my family, borrowed notes from my classmates to catch up on
the lessons I missed, and I even took exams at home with only the testing facilitator
and I in the room. When I took the exams, I wrote with my left hand while lying down,
my left leg elevated on top of a pile of pillows (to prevent swelling), and my right
hand hooked on dextrose. Again, it was a struggle.
Fortunately, I was able to manage to comply with scholastic requirements
amidst being sick. I made it. I graduated with flying colors. Even more tear-jerking in
my part, I graduated as the batch salutatorian. It was one of proudest moments of
my life not because of what I achieved, but because of how I achieved it. Walking
with crutches towards the stage to receive my diploma was probably one of the best
moments in my life.
To me, this is how existentialism is supposed to be. I was undergoing a
human condition beyond my control an illness. I could not do anything about it,
because it was not a product of my decision. It just happened. I should accept it.
However, acceptance of the situation is not the only way to survive it, I had to do
something to emerge victorious out of this condition. I had to continue working
hard, studying hard enough to finish what I started. If I succumbed to despair brought
about by a sudden, unexpected illness that occurred, if I did not see a light in this
situation, then probably until now, I am still in frustration. But I knew that I have to be
greater than what I was going through. I knew what I was for to surpass human
condition and live life.
In other words, back then, if I saw life just as how it was, and not going
beyond the horizon that is drawn on the photograph, it might have been the biggest
regret in my life. By attempting to overcome this dark moment in my life, I

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acknowledged the fact that I am someone who can become, who never stopped
becoming just because there was an adversity that transpired. I lived with this
condition, and made something from it.
As clich as it sounds, life is a rollercoaster. It is not a bump-free ride that
does not have obstacles. It is a road full of humps, cracks, and broken asphalt, and
on this road, existentialism is the process of stepping on the brakes and the
accelerator. Hence, my response to it is knowing how to drive the vehicle despite the
inconsistencies and difficulties that can come across my way, and not stopping it just
because the road is not as smooth as how we want it to be.
Indeed, we are something and we are someone in this world, but that is
meaningless if we do not know what we are for. If we experience a difficult situation
in life, it is important to know what we are for, because through it, we can identify
what we live for. If we dont know the what for of our life, then we might be stuck,
because we would not be able to direct ourselves towards our essence. This is
where existentialism comes in, because living life with essence, transcending human
conditions present on earth, and dwelling in the abundance and beauty of life despite
the mystery of it, is how life should be lived. There is more life that exists in life. We
should know how to live with it, but at the same time, look beyond it, in our process
of becoming.