Over thousands of years, many of the greatest minds have grappled with the meaning of life. Questions abound regarding life’s origin, reason, purpose, and value. Still other questions persist, such as why we exist or what is life’s significance.
So Many Questions
We’re here already, so why the question of origin? All the “greats” over the millennia haven’t provided an answer to this or any of the questions that have plagued humanity about the meaning of life.
Why do we exist? Again, I’ll take the easy way out and say, does it matter? If we knew would we be doing things differently? Would we think differently? Maybe, but probably not. A brief history lesson will show that humans haven’t changed much over the years in this regard.
Photo by sander traa
We develop new tools – from a slingshot to automatic weapons or a printing press to a PC, but a slug moves faster than our progression of thinking and feeling about things how we treat others and ourselves.
What would we do if we knew?
Say we find out that we exist to help others of our species live a better life. Knowing that would we automatically do it? I’m talking about everyone since this is “why we exist”. We eat and drink to sustain life and everyone will do that, but wold everyone be in sync to do other things? I’m thinking no.
As far as life’s significance, well this seems arbitrary. That’s like wondering why we desire love. I’m not sure we need to analyze the significance of life or love. How about we just explore it? Life and love deserve it.
What about the many questions about life’s reason, purpose, and value? Well this is up to us. S this leads me to a far better question for each of us to ponder and that is:
So what is the meaning of OUR life?
With the question I pose, perhaps we can look at our past for clues, but spend most of our time looking at our present. Our present may then, in turn, inform our future.
“The unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates
We learn about ourselves through our experiences and attempt to find meaning. We are reflective by nature, but we often overlook or are unwilling to find meaning in our introspection. Just look at history and how we, humankind, seldom heed its message. We seem to like our olpitical existence.
We Decide
Like the skin of an onion, if we peel back the layers of man’s interpretation of how others should live, we may see ourselves as we truly are. It is up to us to do this as no one will do it for us. We shouldn’t expect anyone else to give us OUR answers, nor should we accept their decrees of other that tell us what’s meaningful to us individually.
What I find meaningful to me should be celebrated and not fit into some ancient scheme or blueprint.
Acceptance, affirmation, and intimacy are all strong needs we all have. Our existence is about the many connections we all experience. As an example, we have memories that are unique to us. Seldom does another soul value, or even remember, certain memories that we hold dear. They are ours and live in our very core. They are a record of our life. Among other aspects of our life, memories help create meaning in our life.
The moments of our lives, when collected and strung together like the choice words of a poem tell the tale of our lives and give it meaning. It’s not just the big moments but the tiny ones to
You Naturally Smile
Think of what you value, and an experience attached to that value. You naturally smile. We are made up of fun, somber, intimate, scary, insightful, bizarre, and mystical moments that all enliven who we are. That’s where we derive our own meaning.
Some folks think we must engage in some noble purpose, and this gives our life meaning. I like to keep in mind that, again, I decide what is “noble” and do not need others to judge the way I decide to give meaning to my life.
I am the only person who I have been with for every second of my life from the moment I was born until the moment I die. No one knows me or you better than me and and no one knows you better than you.
We create the meaning of OUR life.
You may also like these posts: The Time We Have, It’s Created in the Mind, Follow Your Hear & Live Your Truth
About E.G. Kardos
I am a fiction writer and the author of five books. My writing draws inspiration from the beauty surrounding us all—both in nature and in each other. Spirituality, friendship, love, and our connection to the universe inspire me to write. Here’s more about me and my books.
Latest Posts
- The Gloaming: When Day Meets Night and it is Spectacular
- Paulo Coelho and Small Miracles
- C.S. Lewis, Fairytales and You
- Writing Literary Fiction and What I’m Learning
- Symbols of Our Love Every Day and Mother’s Day
Most Viewed Posts
All Posts
Leave a Reply