The Absurdity of Modern Living: A Quiet Rebellion

I’ve often felt like a stranger in the world I was born into. From a young age, something about the rhythms of modern life struck me as odd, even nonsensical. We are told, again and again, that happiness lies just beyond the next promotion, the next big purchase, or the next milestone on a checklist we didn’t even write. We work harder, accumulate more, and yet so many of us feel hollowed out, plagued by a nagging question we can’t quite articulate: Is this it?

This, to me, is the absurdity of modern living. Not absurd in the sense of silly or comedic, but in the existential sense that Albert Camus described—a fundamental mismatch between our yearning for meaning and the chaotic, indifferent systems we’ve built around ourselves. We are meaning-seekers, but modernity offers little more than distractions wrapped in shiny packages.

Think about it. Success today is often defined by metrics that have nothing to do with human fulfillment. We glorify competition, even when it pits us against our neighbors or colleagues. We chase material wealth, even when it leaves us disconnected from nature, from others, and from ourselves. Social media bombards us with curated lives that make us feel inadequate, even as we post our own carefully constructed versions. It’s a system designed not for contentment but for constant striving, an endless cycle of more—more money, more achievements, more likes, more everything.

And yet, the more we pursue, the less we seem to feel. Camus wrote that the absurd begins with this confrontation: the desire for clarity and meaning crashing into a world that offers neither. But where Camus offers a rebellion against the absurd—a commitment to live fully and authentically despite it—modern life encourages the opposite. It nudges us toward conformity, toward becoming "well-adjusted" to systems that are anything but sane.

Krishnamurti captured this paradox perfectly when he said,

“It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”

Yet, much of what we’re taught is precisely this adjustment: to work harder, consume more, and seek validation through external measures that ultimately leave us unfulfilled. Psychologists, teachers, even parents often measure success by how well we conform to these expectations. But what if the expectations are wrong? What if we’ve built a society so fundamentally at odds with our humanity that the only sane response is to reject it?

Reclaiming the Authentic Self

Rejecting the absurdity of modern living doesn’t mean retreating into isolation or abandoning the world entirely. Most of us, myself included, don’t have the privilege to walk away from modernity. We have bills to pay, families to support, and lives firmly rooted in this system. But that doesn’t mean we have to surrender to it. There is a way to live authentically, even in the face of absurdity. Well at least I hope so, otherwise we all doomed.

For me, this journey begins with questioning the stories we’ve been told about what makes life worthwhile. Do we really need to out-compete everyone around us? Does success have to come at the expense of our relationships, our well-being, or our connection to the natural world? These questions may seem small, but they’re radical acts in a society that thrives on uncritical acceptance of its norms.

I’ve found that mindfulness, the wisdom of nature, and existential philosophy offer powerful tools for navigating this tension. Mindfulness helps me step out of the endless cycle of doing and into the stillness of being. Nature reminds me that life’s beauty and complexity exist beyond human-made systems. And existentialism challenges me to take responsibility for my own values and choices, to create meaning rather than waiting for the world to hand it to me.

A Quiet Rebellion

I don’t have all the answers. This blog isn’t about neatly packaged solutions or step-by-step guides. Life is too complex, too messy for that. But I believe in the power of questioning, of stepping back from the noise and asking: What really matters? That, to me, is the first step in reclaiming our humanity in a world that so often asks us to trade it away.

So, here we are, living in the absurd. We can’t escape it, but we can confront it. We can rebel against the systems that reduce us to consumers or cogs, and we can create lives that feel authentic, even within their constraints. I hope this space becomes a place where we can explore these ideas together—not to escape modernity, but to navigate it with integrity and courage.

Because if the world is absurd, then perhaps the most profound thing we can do is live with meaning anyway.