I am standing on the platform of the tram and I am entirely uncertain as to my place in this world, in this town, in my family. Not even approximately could I state what claims I might justifiably advance in any direction. I am quite unable to defend the fact that I am standing on this platform, holding this strap, letting myself be carried along by this tram, and that people are getting out of the tram’s way or walking along quietly or pausing in front of the shop windows. Not that anyone asks me to, but that is immaterial.

Kafka is experiencing an existential disconnect,  the acute realization that you are partaking in an event of which you don’t why or where it originated or where it is going in terms of its purpose or destination as well as your own role in all of this. My take on this is that we might encounter such a disconnect when we take a step back from the immediacy of our daily lives and try to place them within the larger reality of the world we live in.

What is the distinction, and how do we run into it? I think the distinction is a function of contrasting the comings and goings of our daily lives as defined by  our  present and our past against the cosmic spectacle we appear to be immersed in – given that we are an intricate part of it – but unable to articulate the significance of this in any meaningful way.

More specifically, when you look at all of  human history and the types of activities that have preoccupied our species since the beginning of time – including the trail of war and other forms of mindless savagery that has been left behind as we have proved and continue to prove to be our own worst enemy – you have to wonder what this human saga is all about, as when you think about this for a minute the entire human effort as a whole makes absolutely no sense at all.

Now something started all this, and our sciences have told us as much:  the cosmos exploded, the earth cooled, the slimy bottom spawned, life evolved and here we are. But, to what avail?  I think that is a reasonable question, and it should be staring us in the face all the time, yet we seem to go on as if  none of this is of any consequence even if we did know the answer.

I think that way down deep this is an issue for all of us, and is subsumed in the human psyche, but that only some of us are  willing to confront, or – for that matter – are able to experience as an existential issue at some level or another and that, yes, continues to stare us directly in the face all the time.

And that is absolutely true.  I need to revisit these themes or premises on an ongoing basis; first of all, to ensure I am not straying from what I believe is absolutely true and fundamental about being a human being in this world.  Let me share what is for me most fundamental one of all, and while this theme underpins just about all my thinking for about as long as I can remember,  it was not until I read Franz Kafka (1883-1924) that I came across the perfect passage to give expression to it:

I am standing on the platform of the tram and I am entirely uncertain as to my place in this world, in this town, in my family. Not even approximately could I state what claims I might justifiably advance in any direction. I am quite unable to defend the fact that I am standing on this platform, holding this strap, letting myself be carried along by this tram, and that people are getting out of the tram’s way or walking along quietly or pausing in front of the shop windows. Not that anyone asks me to, but that is immaterial. (Franz Kafka – from The Passenger – 1908)

In short, we human beings have absolutely no idea why we are here or what we are doing here. We are the first and only creature on this planet that is actually capable of approaching the notion of “why”,  as in – “Why are we here at all?” – although very few actually take the time to consider it a worthwhile question.  Yet for me, this question should permeate every living breath we take and underscore every decision we make, in the sense that whatever the answer might be, it ought to figure prominently in the course of all human endeavor.

But this is not the case today as we are either not ready or willing to accept the responsibility that comes with the attempt to answer that question-  since nothing else is going to do that for us!  The critical question here is if we have the courage to take this on, since to decide  for oneself is to decide for everyone else also – are we not all in this together?- and so decide the very future of the human race.

In fact, it is my belief that being able to ask “why” and attempting to provide and answer to it  is in fact the sole reason why we are here as we are, and that all of evolution has added up to this point. And  this is not just about us as a species but about  all of the cosmos as we represent every particle of it  in our bodies when we are finally in a position to ask “Why?” – as in – “Why is there anything here at all?”