The nights draw in, and the Autumn is truly upon us after the rigours of an almost entirely non-existent Summer. Oh, that's not true, for there were some sunny weeks, but the murk and rain predominated in the most welcome of ways. There's nothing quite so nice as a damp Summer, and the consequential ignoring of sunscreen and hats. Now, Winter is looking us dead in the eye, and what will we do? Wander around, taking sanity preserving long midday walks in the pale sunshine? It's not the worst idea in the world. Visit castles in solitude, free from the crowds wandering around in the other seasons? Brilliant!
Looking back at the Phrontistery, the great repository of rare or archaic words, I'm reminded of the word 'nihilism', which I've seen a thousand times before, but never fully understood except from the context. It's actually a far more shocking word than you might think:
nihilism - denial of all reality; extreme scepticism.
Yes, a nihilist is someone who completely disbelieves in any of the reality all around us. All of it. Completely. Even I, as someone who routinely assumes all of life to be utterly ludicrous and supremely mockable, still believe it is somehow real. There are things and people to care about. No, a true nihilist is at the very minimum extremely sceptical of everything. Everything. Shoes. Busses. Themselves. The world. Then, if you're not convinced that anything is real, you also believe that none of it matters, and then the most dangerous conclusion is that you can destroy what you like because it's not real to begin with. Nihilism in its truest definition, is a very dangerous thing. You're only ever one definition away from new ideas and insight into both the wonders and the fears of the world.
Now, in one of the more pleasant parts of being a tutor, it's time to write a reply to a letter from a former student, and encourage her English on every level that I can! It doesn't end with the lessons, especially when people are nice.
O.
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