Saturday, September 2, 2017

What Is The Meaning Of Life?

“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” - Pablo Picasso


What is the meaning of life?  This is probably one of the oldest questions that has pondered humankind over the centuries.  Why are we here?  Is there a purpose to our lives?  What are we supposed to be doing?

Do you ever wonder what the universe would be like if humans didn't exist?  Do we add value to this whole thing called life?

Every day we learn more and theorize about how we got to where we are.  Are we only here because meteorites found this planet which happened to meet all the right conditions to allow us to evolve to where we are now?  If life came here from space, what the hell is out there?

Do you believe in the creation story?

Since Galileo proposed that the Earth is not at the center of the universe and the Earth orbits the sun (one of billions of suns),  science and religious beliefs have been in conflict.

I have accepted that I will most likely be forgotten long after I am gone and that ultimately everyone will somehow be forgotten.  You could argue that there are some people who will always be remembered (George Washington as the first president of the United States).  But what if one day, the United States changes and becomes part of a larger country (Canada, United States, Mexico) and then centuries later joins a larger country (North America & South America).  Now you go 4,000 years later (assuming the sun still works), chances are George Washington will not be remembered.  Probably he has a better chance than me.

If you believe in something like heaven after you die, perhaps the meaning of life is just a test for you to live a good life to earn your way into heaven.  Perhaps it is related to Karma and encourages you to lead a good life.  But that still doesn't answer the question, what difference to the universe will it make if humans did or did not exist.

Do we only believe that we have souls because we have the mental capacity to think about these things?  If you do not believe in God, then who made everything?

When you look back at history, the world wasn't a very good place to live.  People constantly lived in fear from enemies and groups of people that feared others and wanted to get rid of you before you got rid of them.  People suffered and still do from things like war, disease, and hunger.  Those who have been born in countries without these things are lucky (like winning a lottery) and if they have a good family environment with love and financial backing they have a better chance to continue with a good lifestyle.  Why is it that these people have it better than others?  Is that really fair and how does it fit into the meaning of life?

Chances are there is no meaning of life.   I very well could be wasting my time pondering this question and not living my life to its potential.  I should be thankful that all those conceived before me were ultimately responsible for me to exist and if any of them did anything differently, I most likely would not be here.

What we do may not really make much of a difference in the grand scheme of things.  However, for this life we might as well leave the world a little better than it was when we got here.  We should find our gifts and share them with others.

What that means for you depends on you.  No matter how you plan to do this, you should try to live a  life that is ethical and moral.  And most importantly, you should find happiness.

We should treat others as we want to be treated.  We should protect our environment so others have a chance to continue this thing we call life.

You have freewill.  What would you rather be doing?






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