Having finally read Waiting of Godot for Samuel Beckett, I can now say that I have learnt nothing of substance. Maybe plays are meant to be watched and not read. 

In fact, maybe nothing of substance was meant to be learnt… Waiting for Godot is about self-reflection and about re-examining one’s life choices in means of having a — meaningful — purpose in life. The protagonists in the play had a purpose, to wait for the arrival of someone by the name of Godot. Who is this person and why are they waiting for him? — they do not know and neither do we. Vladimir and Estragon’s wait is the main theme in the play. They are waiting for nothing — simply waiting for oblivion. It impacts them so much that they talk about dying by suicide one day after the most banal of conversations. 

Reading this unnecessary play, I did come to a realization though; we do need to value something: boredom. I often — like every other human being — hate being bored. I am inclined to fill my time with anything, including banalities, to make me feel full. But it is often through boredom that I discover myself and the most unimportant memories come back to me. My fears, joys and desires also come alive. Is this what boredom is supposed to feel like? 

Godot is oblivion. Oblivion is the unknown. It lies in the future. None of us can claim to know the future; we can simply aspire for a certain future, but can never *know* the future. 

Godot is nothingness. What if our lives do not have any meaningful purpose… many live and die in despair, from and into nothingness. 

Godot is our never arriving saviour. Individuals can only save themselves regardless of all the hardships they might face in their lives. We hope for answers from above or alternatively, from other people; answers that will most likely never arrive.  We are most often dependent on other people; individuals that might never come to our aid.

Nothingness could consume us. Humans need meaningful purpose to carry on living — simply surviving, or alternatively waiting for oblivion is just not enough. What we consider “meaningful purpose in life” are but a collection of myths. We convince ourselves of how important to our lives and fulfilling they must be. Just like hamsters running around in their tiny habitat, our lives are quite meaningless.

Essentially speaking, we are all waiting for Godot.