the virtue of nothingness

from the child of sartre and de beauvoir


i stopped trying to be something, to describe myself as such and such; a conglomerate of tendencies and proclivities. you are nothing, i am not-a-thing, there is a virtue in emptiness, willful emptiness; the antithesis of consumptive personalities. to be beyond category and objectification, to exist as pure being unmediated without the multiplicity of inessential qualities.

i want to be nothing, not the absence of things, but the negation of them; embrace the emptiness instead of trying to project my being onto abstracts and objects. identity is only the relative differences of your relationships with others; you try too much to be that which your not, which you cannot be, which no one is- and then you construct your personality you feel distanced, alone.

you will never find yourself outside of yourself; in the reflections of others, in the possession of objects or the construction of exchangeable traits. you continually try to invest value into your life, under the guise of 'discovery,' because you see the burden of being viewed as valueless; you want to find your value in your being recognized, as long as someone believes in you, invests meaning into you, you will feel value, and valued. but this is an empty pursuit operating on credit without substantial reference or backing. people seek a validation for their existence, not in themselves but in others, in projects, and in ideals. no longer is there a difference between having an image of recognition and the awareness of that recognition such that we are continually trying to shape the perception of ourselves in the minds of others.

create an image of yourself to project, because, that's all you'll ever be, a picture, an apparition, the appearance of a person.

tell me who you are so that i may remember you, that is what you want isn't it, to be remembered?

distinguish yourself from the rest, an individual, that which makes you you makes you alone. congratulations.

make something of yourself, because, right now, you are nothing.