“To be, or not to be: that is the question.” – William Shakespeare, Hamlet

Buckle up my friends, because things are about to get pretty intense. The below passage is unadulterated, unfiltered, honest opinions. It’s something that’s on all of our minds, and now I’m finally penning down my thoughts. Let’s get straight into it.

So, what is existence? It’s a heavy question, one that I’ve often myself tried to answer but failed at horribly.

Existence doesn’t really have a clear-cut definition, only because it’s something so enormously significant. It’s an all-encompassing thing. Existence has no classification or real meaning. It doesn’t necessarily apply to only humans, but to everything that… well, exists.

Perhaps existence can best termed as ‘being’. Just a state of being a part of the universe in a specific way.

Existence has always been something that baffles mankind – that one unanswerable question. That’s simply because every time we get an answer about existence, another question arises.

When we talk about existence, we are really talking about philosophy as well, because you cannot explore one without indirectly discovering another. Mainly because existence is sort of a study of reality. The more we question existence, the more we toy with the subtle fabric of reality.

Why do we exist? Do we really exist? What is existing? How do we know that existing is what we think it to be?  What is the point of education or development, if everything is going to fade out of existence? Isn’t everything humanity does a lie, if at the end of it, we cease to exist? Why do we do what we do? Is our existence a hoax? Are we merely puppets of an ulterior power that is toying with our minds and leading us to believe what we believe? What is death? Is death really the end of existence? What happens after death? Is death really a bad thing? Who termed it to be a bad thing? If we do not know its consequence, why are we so scared of it? Why are some people not scared of death? Is death just another stage of development in life, or is it really the end? How do we end existence? Is the point of existing to stop existing? What is God? Who created God? Who created God’s creator? Does science really exist, or is it a lie? Does scientific understanding blur reality? If everything has some explanation, what is the explanation behind that explanation? What are the smallest of smallest of smallest particles even made of? What are those made of? Should we believe in science or God? Why do we have so many opinions on God? What is the point of religion? What is the point of science? What is the Universe? What lies outside of it? If nothing lies outside of the universe, then outside of the Universe, what exists? What would non-existence look like? What is nothing? What is the point of rules? What is the point of humanity? What is our ultimate goal, if our existence dictates our past, present and future? What is time? Why do we question existence, yet believe in science and God? Is there really an explanation to anything? What is everything? What lies beyond it? What is eternity? Is there really an eternity? When will eternity end? What is the meaning of life? What is the point of it all?

Yup. It can get a bit messy.

Questioning existence unlocks the deepest boundaries of our mind. Many a time, it can be quite painful and troublesome. When that happens, you’re undergoing an existential crisis.

An existential crisis is, as the name suggests, a serious interrogation of existence. It often occurs due to psychological trauma, marriage, separation, major loss, the death of a loved one, a life-threatening experience, a new love partner, psychoactive drug use, adult children leaving home, reaching a personally significant age (turning 16, turning 40, etc.), so on and so forth.

Such grief, such a tumultuous whirlwind of emotions, leads us to question the foundations of our being in a highly negative way. We feel isolated, we feel that our life has been pointless, we think a bit too much about mortality which leads to insomnia and severe psychological trauma. Several people even commit suicide during an existential crisis.

And that is the sheer power of existence. A word with no absolute meaning, but one with awesome power to warp reality, our minds and destroy everything we thought prior to the moment.

That’s why existence isn’t something to be taken lightly. Take pride in your existence no matter what you do, say, think or become. Because existence, though marvellously complicated and inexplicable, can often be simply beautiful. Many a time, existence reminds us of how insignificant we are in this universe.

And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Life is good. Adieu.