Crumbling Realities: Embracing the Uncertainty of Life

Sometimes an inner feeling that everything is falling apart awakens in moments when the usual order of life is suddenly jeopardized. In such periods of global change and personal trials, our perspective on the world shifts, as if the familiar supports are dissolving in a stream of unpredictability. This sensation of “liquid existence,” where stability gives way to chaos, is reflected not only in our thoughts but also in social upheavals, as political and social spheres undergo deep crises and transformations.

Personal experiences of abrupt change – when home, a symbol of reliability, transforms in an instant – evoke a sense of futility and of endless time that has lost its familiar contours. These moments, typically accompanied by inner anxiety, force us to rethink our values, beliefs, and the meaning of our existence. Similar sentiments arise during historical turnarounds, when large-scale events prompt us to question the finiteness of the familiar world and to seek new directions.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that such experiences, though charged with drama, can serve as catalysts for inner growth and new perspectives on life. The spontaneous dismantling of old certainties creates an opportunity for renewal and a reassessment of all that once seemed unshakeable, opening a path to a deeper understanding of our own essence and the course of historical processes.

At what moments in your life have you felt that the world is crumbling and everything is coming to an end? Based on my own experience, the feeling that the world is collapsing and that everything is ending has periodically emerged during those moments when it seemed that the foundations of the familiar order were vanishing under the onslaught of global and personal crises, when the once unmovable old suddenly began to disintegrate before our eyes.

Thus, during periods of fundamental change in our understanding of how the world works – when the time comes that traditional notions of the cosmos and order no longer hold sway – a certain eschatological anxiety is felt. One such experience is described as follows:
"But this pessimism is not absolute, but relative... The world is entering a liquid state. … Man is surrounded by cosmic infinity, by supra- and infra-realms. … The contradictions of these two processes are insurmountable within this world" (source: link ).

Similar feelings intensify during periods of social upheaval, when the world around appears in a state of molten instability, and when political life, it would seem, loses its form and stability:
"Modern humanity’s condition is defined by two moments that… lend current public life a particularly tragic character. … Political life exists in a molten state, and instability reigns everywhere…" (source: link ).

The personal experience of life coming to a sudden, sharp end when the usual flow of existence plunges into extreme instability is captured in these words:
"And, cracking and settling, it was once a home; from a certain point, it was no longer a home. … Oh, with what intensity I then felt the futility of human endeavors! … It suddenly became clear to me that 'time has slipped out of its grooves'" (source: link ).

Likewise, global historical upheavals and revolutionary turmoil awaken in the heart a sense of inevitable finality:
"A great revolution is taking place… The whole world is collapsing… Is this not the end of the world?" — … Every world-historical turnaround is like a mountain pass, a transition marking the end of world history..." (source: link ).

Finally, personal midlife crises – when years of experience trail behind us and it seems that all our efforts have been in vain – are also imbued with a feeling of the finality of existence:
"All five billion are tumbling into the abyss, while thinking they are building a civilization. … For when one reaches the age of fifty, … it seems that life has suffered a complete collapse in every way" (source: link ).

These moments, whether triggered by large-scale historical and social shocks or sudden personal crises, create the sensation that the world is crumbling and that everything once so reliable and defined is suddenly giving way to uncertainty and disintegration.

Supporting citation(s):
"But this pessimism is not absolute, but relative, and in it there remains a messianic hope. … The world, our planet, has faltered. … Man is surrounded by cosmic infinity…" (source: link )
"Modern humanity’s condition is defined by two moments, … Political life exists in a molten state…" (source: link )
"And, cracking and settling, it was once a home; … with what intensity I then felt the futility of human endeavors! …" (source: link )
"A great revolution is taking place… The whole world is collapsing… Is this not the end of the world? …" (source: link )
"All five billion are tumbling into the abyss, … it seems that life has suffered a complete collapse in every way…" (source: link )