“The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for.”
Which is a rough quote and an attribution to famous Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky.
I went deep on Russian literature for year and yes. With everything going on in the world via Russia and Ukraine. Anyone who sings any praises about Russia are quickly shunned while being called a Nazi too.
Which is wild but expected, especially in 2025.
However back in 2020 when the world was going to shit.
A young lad. Probably about early 20s asked me how to fix his situation in life. Now usually places like Twitter are known to be a cess pool of epic proportions because there’s no real structure of what is being shared there. So you can easily get sucked into the many sub groups or niches of Twitter.
Anyways. I recommend he strapped himself in and read The Brothers Karamazov.
The sentiment certainly aligns with major themes in his work, particularly in The Brothers Karamazov where characters grapple with finding meaning and purpose in life.
The novel explores similar ideas through characters like Alyosha and Ivan, and their discussions about faith, suffering, and what makes life worth living.
And so the quote about is often also wrapped in the way Dostoevsky saw the world.
Basically what I said was he needs to find a purpose to become attached to. Something that’ll add meaning to his life. I mean when we were raised by our parents we were, unfortunately lied to a lot of the time.
Not by their own faults and beliefs. Just by how everything back then was “sold” to us.
The hardest thing to do nowadays, is to stand on your own two feet while battling through your own demons and going against what society deems “normal”
So if you’re feeling stuck. If people are trying to get you down and belittle your goals and dreams.
Lock yourself away for a few days and read The Brothers Karamazov.
It may not give you all of the answers.
But it’ll wake you up enough to the point where you’ll tell the ones who are trying to hold you back to fuck off.
Stephen Walker