Very interesting and well structured. i have a degree in Literature Arts and I love to think and read and possibly revisit because I want to be clear. This piece made me think and revisit.
The poem argues that in a silent, indifferent universe, morality isn’t a built‑in law of reality but a human construction we keep alive through shared belief, culture, and hard choices. “Nothing matters by default” doesn’t mean “nothing can matter”; it means kindness, justice, and dignity only exist where people actively choose, reinforce, and defend the…
especially when it’s costly, lonely, or inconvenient.
That makes every ethical act heavier, not lighter: there’s no cosmic referee, just us deciding, over and over, what we will treat as sacred.
If the universe itself is neutral, what do you most want to insist matters in your one small corner of it?
"Nothing is sacred until we insist it is." The move from nihilism as destruction to nihilism as the removal of training wheels is the kind of reframe that takes genuine philosophical courage. The diner image opening the piece earns its place by the end - kindness chosen without guarantee, in a universe that doesn't notice.
Great to have your voice on Substack, Daksh. I have subscribed and look forward to reading more. I would love you to do the same, if my writing resonates.
This left me with a quiet kind of existential discomfort. The notion that morality may not be an eternal truth, but something fragile sustained through human conviction and repeated choice, was deeply affecting. What struck me most was the implication that goodness carries even greater weight when it exists without guarantee, reward, or divine enforcement. A profoundly reflective and unsettling piece in the best sense. Truly beautiful.
Good god, I want to annotate the hell out of this poem. It's so ineffably brilliant.
Posing the question, who are you when you're not performing? Because the life we lead in midst of others is somewhat if not entirely a farce, we want to present ourselves a certain way to be perceived a certain way. However, it is who we choose to be when there's no one parading around to pry on us, when we're not bound by any rules and can act according to our whims and fancies is what we truly are.
It is about intension and who we consciously want to be when the lights are off.
Some reflections after reading this: perhaps one of the mistakes of our times is identifying the existence of something exclusively with its material existence. Even the word “psychology” itself — from Greek — once meant “the study of the soul.” So what exactly was it studying?
Exactly, that’s partly what I was circling around. Psychology wasn’t studying a material object called the “soul,” but an aspect of human existence that was clearly real despite being intangible.
Maybe morality works similarly: not objectively material, yet still real because conscious beings experience, shape, and live inside it.
This is a stark honest look at morality without the safety net of it’s just written that way
It strips goodness and justice down to what they are things we build maintainand choose to keep choosing even when it’s costly or lonely There’s no cosmic backupno guarantee Just us deciding again and again that kindness and dignity matter more than indifference
Unsettlingbut oddly hopeful If nothing is sacred by defaultthen every time we act with care it’s a deliberate act of creation
Nihilism as the removal of training wheels is a reframe I genuinely hadn't encountered before. The weight of it lands exactly right. If nothing is sacred until we insist it is, then every act of kindness is chosen without guarantee and that makes it heavier, not lighter. Remarkable piece.
This reads like a powerful spoken poetry. Beautiful, and deep. I haven't really questioned morality. I always thought it was sort of written in our DNAs or in the fabric of reality. This goes deep! I especially loved and could relate to the line where loyalty concealed rot.
A well-constructed poem that encourages reflection on nihilism, the creation of values, relativity, and human responsibility. Or, as Sartre used to say, humans are “condemned to be free” and thus to invent their own values without any external guarantees.
Very interesting and well structured. i have a degree in Literature Arts and I love to think and read and possibly revisit because I want to be clear. This piece made me think and revisit.
The poem argues that in a silent, indifferent universe, morality isn’t a built‑in law of reality but a human construction we keep alive through shared belief, culture, and hard choices. “Nothing matters by default” doesn’t mean “nothing can matter”; it means kindness, justice, and dignity only exist where people actively choose, reinforce, and defend the…
especially when it’s costly, lonely, or inconvenient.
That makes every ethical act heavier, not lighter: there’s no cosmic referee, just us deciding, over and over, what we will treat as sacred.
If the universe itself is neutral, what do you most want to insist matters in your one small corner of it?
I’d insist that intention matters.
Not the Hallmark kind but the deliberate kind. The choice to build instead of rot. To think clearly instead of react blindly.
"Nothing is sacred until we insist it is." The move from nihilism as destruction to nihilism as the removal of training wheels is the kind of reframe that takes genuine philosophical courage. The diner image opening the piece earns its place by the end - kindness chosen without guarantee, in a universe that doesn't notice.
Great to have your voice on Substack, Daksh. I have subscribed and look forward to reading more. I would love you to do the same, if my writing resonates.
Thank you so much😊😊
I will definitely check out your works too!
You’re welcome and thank you!
Definitely nihilism needs a philosophical courage
This left me with a quiet kind of existential discomfort. The notion that morality may not be an eternal truth, but something fragile sustained through human conviction and repeated choice, was deeply affecting. What struck me most was the implication that goodness carries even greater weight when it exists without guarantee, reward, or divine enforcement. A profoundly reflective and unsettling piece in the best sense. Truly beautiful.
Good god, I want to annotate the hell out of this poem. It's so ineffably brilliant.
Posing the question, who are you when you're not performing? Because the life we lead in midst of others is somewhat if not entirely a farce, we want to present ourselves a certain way to be perceived a certain way. However, it is who we choose to be when there's no one parading around to pry on us, when we're not bound by any rules and can act according to our whims and fancies is what we truly are.
It is about intension and who we consciously want to be when the lights are off.
Reading this was such a gorgeous emotional journey and your style and structure was truly captivating!
Wow, this was extremely interesting! I'm definitely subscribing!
I have just finished reading it , i don't know what to say. Really great poem.
Thanks mate, means a lot!!
Some reflections after reading this: perhaps one of the mistakes of our times is identifying the existence of something exclusively with its material existence. Even the word “psychology” itself — from Greek — once meant “the study of the soul.” So what exactly was it studying?
Exactly, that’s partly what I was circling around. Psychology wasn’t studying a material object called the “soul,” but an aspect of human existence that was clearly real despite being intangible.
Maybe morality works similarly: not objectively material, yet still real because conscious beings experience, shape, and live inside it.
This is a stark honest look at morality without the safety net of it’s just written that way
It strips goodness and justice down to what they are things we build maintainand choose to keep choosing even when it’s costly or lonely There’s no cosmic backupno guarantee Just us deciding again and again that kindness and dignity matter more than indifference
Unsettlingbut oddly hopeful If nothing is sacred by defaultthen every time we act with care it’s a deliberate act of creation
Nihilism as the removal of training wheels is a reframe I genuinely hadn't encountered before. The weight of it lands exactly right. If nothing is sacred until we insist it is, then every act of kindness is chosen without guarantee and that makes it heavier, not lighter. Remarkable piece.
such a profound piece! reframes ethics in a way that feels unsettling but also very thought-provoking.
This reads like a powerful spoken poetry. Beautiful, and deep. I haven't really questioned morality. I always thought it was sort of written in our DNAs or in the fabric of reality. This goes deep! I especially loved and could relate to the line where loyalty concealed rot.
Very well written
Really Nice 🤗
If every human vanished tonight,
would kindness still be kind
in an empty universe?.....wow I know kindness will exist even in world of emptiness because the lord is present ...nice work
A well-constructed poem that encourages reflection on nihilism, the creation of values, relativity, and human responsibility. Or, as Sartre used to say, humans are “condemned to be free” and thus to invent their own values without any external guarantees.