There’s a question that visits everyone sooner or later. It usually shows up in the quietest evenings, when the noise of the day dies down: does my life really count for anything? It’s not a question for fragile people. It’s a question for people who are truly alive, brave enough to look inward without turning away.
To this question Simone de Beauvoir, one of the clearest existentialist voices of the twentieth century, gave an answer that strikes precisely because of its simplicity. In her essay The Coming of Age (La Vieillesse, 1970) she writes: “One’s life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship, indignation and compassion.”
Pause on those words for a moment. De Beauvoir isn’t saying the value of your life depends on how much you earn, how many goals you tick off a list, or how much applause you receive. She’s saying something far more freeing: value isn’t an object you own, it’s a bridge you build. It appears every single time you decide that someone else, beyond yourself, deserves your attention, your energy, your care.
Look at the four paths she points to, because they aren’t abstract. Love is choosing someone’s good even when it’s inconvenient. Friendship is showing up without keeping score. Indignation is that fire that flares up in front of an injustice and stops you from staying indifferent. Compassion is the ability to feel another’s pain as if, for a moment, it were also yours. They are four different ways of saying the same thing: step outside yourself.
The part that really hits home is that all of this is within your reach today, without waiting for the perfect moment. You don’t have to change the whole world. You need a phone call to someone who feels alone, a message to a friend you haven’t spoken to in months, the courage to say “this isn’t right” when everyone else stays silent, a gesture of tenderness toward someone who needs it. Each of these actions, however small, fills the day with meaning.
If tonight you’re wondering whether your life has value, the answer isn’t inside a mirror. It’s outside, in the eyes of the people you’ve done good for. There’s nothing wrong with you for asking: it only means you’re ready to give real weight to your days. And the way to do it, de Beauvoir reminds us, is surprisingly close at hand. Start with others, and you’ll discover you’ve given value to yourself as well.
Sources
- Simone de Beauvoir, The Coming of Age (La Vieillesse), Gallimard, 1970 — English translation by Patrick O’Brian, 1972.
- Original quotation: “One’s life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship, indignation and compassion.”
Follow me on social media
If you found this article helpful, I share content like this every day on my channels too. Subscribe and follow along:
Lascia un commento