At Any Street Corner
“At any street corner the feeling of absurdity can strike any man in the face.” ALBERT CAMUS · THE MYTH OF SISYPHUS
Camus defines the absurd as the collision between our need for meaning and the silence of the world. Today he tells us something just as important about it. It does not wait for a philosophy seminar. At any street corner, he says, the feeling of absurdity can strike any man in the face.
This is worth remembering, because we tend to imagine that big questions belong to solemn occasions. We think we will confront the meaning of life at a funeral, or in a church, or during some dramatic crisis. But Camus knew the truth is stranger. The absurd ambushes us in the most ordinary moments.
You are waiting for a bus. You catch your reflection in a shop window. You are halfway through a routine you have done a thousand times, and suddenly the whole thing tilts, and you think, what am I actually doing, and why.
Camus does not treat this as a breakdown. He treats it as a moment of clarity, available to anyone, requiring no special training. The feeling can strike any man, at any corner. Nothing about it signals that something is wrong with you. It is a sign that you have briefly seen your situation plainly.
If such a moment comes, do not smother it with distraction. Stand there for a few seconds. Let the ordinary show you how strange it has always been. That flash is not your enemy. It is the start of seeing.
