If Today Lasted Forever – A Meditation on Eternal Recurrence

If Today Lasted Forever – A Meditation on Eternal Recurrence

Introduction:

              If you knew this life would repeat itself for eternity, how would you choose to live it? That is, this life as you live it is repeated forever. This is Nietzsche’s thought experiment called an “Eternal Recurrence”. How one interprets this as positive or negative can give insights into your life. What would you change if you knew this life would repeat as you live it forever?

 

Discussion:

              Nietzche’s thought experiment around eternal recurrence asks us to picture reliving our life, exactly how you live it now, over and over again. How would this change how you structure your life? And how would you adjust today to get the most of it? He uses this thought experiment as a test to tell if you are living your life authentically. And can help you to determine the things in life you may want to adjust.

              If you lived this life repeatedly, would you not want to remain healthy for it? I believe this provides direction for making healthier choices. Do we have to know at what age these things will make us sick before we act today? I believe I would want to minimize my years sick, and increase the quality of my life through exercise and diet. If I had to relive this life I would not smoke, or temp fate into leading me to get sick young. I would push to do cardio to gain health benefits and protect from things like mental decline.

              If you had to relieve the same life again, would you not take steps to reduce your needless suffering? And make efforts to live a life free from regrets and guilt? Imagine watching your life happen over and over, the same mistakes haunting you. Watching them come, feeling the agony of knowing the result, and living with it endlessly through all of time. This would be like creating your own personal Hell through your choices. Maybe someone who knows they would be trapped in this loop would take caution to not lie, cheat and steal. And could be used to create a personalized moral value structure. If you could pretend for a moment when tempted to do something wrong that this is a reality, would you not pause and reconsider? Knowing that the guilt/pain you cause would repeat itself over and over again forever?

I pose another question, is living this day once any less important than living it thousands of times? Knowing you only get today once in your life; how would you structure it? Would you spend more time with family? Would you choose to spend time with that person you hate? And why let the malicious people of this earth steal your joy for even a second when your time is limited. I would protect my sanity by living a virtuous life protected from ill intent. And would suggest everyone treat everyday as if its worth a lifetime of riches. You would not trade tomorrow for any amount of money, so why trade it so easily to things you do not love? Why waste another evening scrolling endlessly on your phone when the entire world is passing you by just outside.

Conclusion:

              I hope this thought experiment lingers with you and leads you to lead life more deliberately. I challenge you to sit with this idea as Nietzche did and see what other value you can uncover. If you enjoyed this, feel free to bookmark this reflection so you may revisit it at a later date.