Life is an objective reality given to us in sensations. It is empty and meaningless by itself. Meaning is something we invent. Only what withstands objective factors—space, time, and continuity—is considered real. Everything else—feelings, forecasts, fears, hopes, anxieties—belongs to the subjective realm and is therefore not universally real.
What makes us truly unhappy is always what’s in our heads—our “stories” and mental bugs. Objective reality itself can never make us unhappy. It can only prompt action if we are dissatisfied with it, creating space for a new reality. This new reality is born from the possibilities we create ourselves, once we accept life’s emptiness and meaninglessness. By understanding emptiness, we realize that our creative construction of life is the only thing possible.
Happiness arises from awareness of objective reality. When we free ourselves from imagining negative futures—the mental “consequences” that feed our fears—there is no longer a negative future. Instead, there is only the future we create. From this understanding comes inspiration, delight, and transformation that colors the objective reality “given to us in sensations” with vivid hues.
“Given to us in sensations” is the essence of life, a classical philosophical idea often forgotten. The key is objective reality—not subjective. Objective reality includes nature, the beauty humans create, people themselves, and life itself. Simply recognizing this reality evokes a state of happiness.
To live fully, not just survive, means guiding ourselves by what we love and the possibilities we create—not by ensuring safety or focusing solely on earning sustenance. Sustenance will come. The main thing is to create—our world, ourselves, life—every day, every moment. Your movement, Improvisers, resonates with this philosophy, challenging survival mode, chasing comfort, stagnation, mediocrity, and fitting into the matrix. It’s a challenge to complacency and an invitation to creativity.
Everything else is illusion. Whether we are loved or not, love is not tangible or testable. The most rational approach is to accept as true only what exists in space, time, and continuity. A fly in a glass, the chair you sit on, the air you breathe—these are real. Love and feelings, however, do not meet these universal criteria and remain subjective, illusions. Worrying about illusions is pointless.
No tangible reality can give or take away happiness—only the illusory realm of thoughts and feelings can influence it. When unpleasant emotions arise, recognizing they come from mental stories allows us to move through them without getting stuck. Realizing their unreality removes their power and meaning.
When fear or other negative emotions come up, the simplest thing is to understand they are stories our mind invents to keep us away from “dangerous” life situations. Once we see these sensations as mental noise, we can pass through them without clinging or causing more pain. Understanding the unreality of what we experience renders it meaningless—and frees us.
