No One Gets Out Alive

Martin Heidegger is believed by many to be the most influential existentialist philosopher of the 20th century. During a lecture in 1961, in reply to the question of what one should do to live an authentic life (a life based on one's own values rather than following the herd), he said, "we should simply aim to spend more time in graveyards".

Simon Critchley clarifies: "if we want to understand what it means to be an authentic human being, then it is essential that we constantly project our lives onto the horizon of our death. This is what Heidegger famously calls "being-towards-death"." Critchley then backs this up with a quote from Cicero, "to philosophize is to learn how to die".

If your preference is silver throated country singers then there is this from Willie Nelson, "Live every day like it's your last one, one day you're gonna be right" (from Live Every Day).

All are saying that we will spend more time on what matters most (to us) if we realize that life is not only short, but even shorter than we think.

To this point, some Greek thinkers believed the reason their Gods never changed but remained petulant and petty for eternity is precisely because they never had to face death. They could "worry about it later" a later which would never come. Not enough graveyards on Mt. Olympus I suppose.

This idea drives my favorite reading of Jesus declaration, "Behold, I come quickly" from the last chapter of Revelation (22:7).  Usually read that the Savior will soon return to rule, I prefer it as a reminder that we will be standing before him much sooner than we think.  This rings true to me since at the ripe old age of 67 it seems just yesterday that I was in high school.

The social commentator David Brooks tackled this topic in his self-reflective book, "The Second Mountain". When young, he felt that happiness was in a successful career, something he had done in spades having become a recognized public intellectual and social commentator.

All seemed on plan until he woke up one morning to find that while he had been out making his mark, his most important relationships, including his marriage had fallen apart. All he had of value was his career and that alone felt empty.

After his divorce, at a low point and casting about for direction, he became friends with a family who took broken people into their home who were trying to get their life in order.  With very limited means this was still a very happy family because they were rich in assets he had little of, that is relationships and particularly those forged in the crucible of love and sacrifice.

Here Brooks has his epiphany, that he had climbed the mountain of secular success only to find that it was a false peak.  He realized that his newfound friends had been climbing the second mountain, one with joy at its peak, a joy that can only come through other people.

All of this is summarized in his book and a Ted talk in which challenges his listeners to consider which mountain they are on and if it was the right one. He frames it as choice between secular success leading to a great resume, or to be one “who seeks connection, community, love — the values that make for a great eulogy.”  He quipped that career success, money and fame can bring happiness, but the kind of happiness which is transcendent, which he called joy, is something that can only come through relationships with other people, relationships forged through love and sacrifice.

These ideas run directly counter to ideas of Nietzsche and other 20th century Existentialists (including Heidegger) who were champions of the individual as an individual.  The shackles of religion and other cultural norms should be thrown off to allow one to pursue "Life as Art" to live the tagline "You Do You" or as best said by Hunter Thompson, "at the top of the mountain we are all snow leopards", that is, if we survive the brutal climb and weather it to the top of the human heap, we will be solitary but beautiful.

I wonder if today's high rates of depression and anxiety are evidence that this "hyper-individualism" is a train running out of track. Is Brook’s Second Mountain pointing to the right goal? Jesus certainly taught this while he lived and lived this in the way he died.

The Savior was more about connection and healing than doctrine, bringing relationships front and center which is reflected in the core teachings of Christian faith. This is even more so for members of the LDS Church for whom salvation includes a significant communal component and for whom a primary purpose of this life is to seal relationships in this life which endure eternally.

I'll close on the question of how does one know whether to follow Nietzsche et al. or to scale the Second Mountain Brooks describes? While there is certainly a battle of ideas that can be engaged here, the proof is in the living. This was certainly Jesus’ teaching. When John the Baptist sent disciples to Jesus (see John 1) he didn’t hand them a pamphlet to read, he said “come follow me” or “come and see”. Those who did saw him teach and heal and learned to do the same. Something all of us should consider.