Time would progress in a circle rather than a straight line, forcing us to experience all the same hardships and blessings in life over and over again.
Nietzsche’s idea of eternal recurrence stood out to me ever since I first learned it. How awful. As someone who needs constant change and hates routines, I would be miserable living my life again and again in an eternal circle. Luckily for me, this eccentric German philosopher wasn’t proposing that our world followed his theory of eternal recurrence. Instead, eternal recurrence challenges our mindsets about life and questions our attitudes towards ourselves. Would you resent the idea of having to repeat your life perpetually? Or, would you be overjoyed at the predictability of such a life? Regardless of which side you stand on, Nietzsche challenges us to think how differently we would act if we have to live this life again and again.
Most people view time as something that runs in an endless, linear line, progressing forward regardless of our actions. Because of time’s recoverable nature, people often regard it as a treasure. You can’t change the past. However, since time runs in a seemingly endless line, others may waste it, especially when they are younger. So if eternal recurrence governed our world, and you treat this current life as your first one, how would you live it? How would you live every day, knowing you are shaping your subsequent lives?
For me, Nietzsche’s idea can act as a wonderful guide to how I make decisions in life. If I had to live this life over and over again, I would not toil all my life at a job I hate to make money that I can only enjoy for a little while before I die and have to start over again. My motto no longer is to work hard while you are young and enjoy life later. I would want to feel joy more often so, at the end of each lifetime, I’m not dreading the start of another cycle where 80% of it is painful. At the same time, imagining an ever-repeating life also makes me choose my goals wisely and chase them with more ambition. If I have to live again and again, there better be some accomplishments I’m looking forward to within each lifetime. I weigh my decisions with a clearer mind, understanding my own willingness to give up certain things to pursue a goal that would contribute to my happiness in the long (and circular) run. The idea of eternal recurrence helped me find balance. When I do choose to work very hard to further my career or a passion, I won’t complain about the difficulties or what I am missing out on. And when I do feel overly exhausted or stressed, I remind myself that these feelings should not make up the majority of my life so I have started taking more breaks and finding at least a bit of joy each day.
Of course, our own actions do not control all that happens to us in this lifetime. Sometimes, misfortune arrives unannounced and nothing we do will change that. Even then, the idea of eternal return still can help us find direction in our lives. If you are doomed to experience moments of sadness or anger, again and again, you should try to accept them and move on as quickly as possible in this lifetime. You would not wallow in your own suffering and refuse help if you had to relive those experiences countless times. You’d also be more forgiving to people you love and choose to remember the best parts of a bond instead of the most hurtful memories. Who would want to be resentful or miserable for the majority of their life over and over again?
I believe eternal recurrence acts like a formula for life where we can plug in different values to bring about different results. We can use it to ask ourselves: “If life repeated itself, what would I value most and what would I do to achieve my goals?” Eternal recurrence also reminds us to embrace happiness and strive to make more moments enjoyable. So even though this idea doesn’t hand you the meaning of life or tell you what happens after death, Nietzsche’s idea can help us find those answers ourselves.
Lux Brumalis 