The question of the meaning of life, is a concept which presents itself to the mind of every normal human being, eliciting a variety of emotions, ideas and platitudes.
Image attribution - The Meaning of Life, by Shinzen Young
When the question is posed in the form : "What is the meaning of life ?" it seems to assume that there is meaning beyond that which the inquiring mind would attach to it. In other words, there is a presumption that there is a mind which is above the individual inquiring mind, which has determined, or which dictates a meaning.
One conception of such a mind is that of a being which exists outside of the realm we abide in, which created this realm, which begs the question, : What meaning was there before that 'creation' ?, since if there were such a being as could create all this, then of course the same question would apply to that individual's situation, both prior to such creation and after it.
Another is that the 'spirit essence' of all things are combined in one and all things are manifestations of that 'cosmic consciousness'. The ever-present, omniscient mind and force described here being a different conception of the nature of God.
Yet another is that the God described in the former, is a part of many combined in the latter.
Then there are they which view our individual minds as the closest thing to the concept of a god, in existence.
One of the most followed religious teachings is that we are aberrations which manifest as we are because our individuality is an attribute which effectively puts us at least slightly at odds with the unified deity and that we will continue to manifest in various forms until we bring ourselves in line with the unified 'consciousness'. Our purpose in this instance would be to learn to abide the ways which achieve this unity, at which point, our individuality ceases to manifest.
The Christian purpose, claimed by most followers, is to achieve a character status in accord with the will of God and then to live in joy and happiness with God, forever more. This is of course not dissimilar from the former idea.
Those who reject the concept of deity and spirit, are left with the idea that we are probably the most intelligence species, unless others have 'evolved' on some other sphere.
For these, the idea of a preexisting purpose is a non-starter and each is really left to determine his own purpose or to affiliate with someone else's idea of a purpose to life.
Which ever category we may fall into, I suggest that there is an obvious common purpose, apparent in the conduct of every species on the planet, which can be defined for each living entity quite simply as :
To live by avoiding death.
To propagate the species which afforded it life.
To increase the comfort and pleasure of living.
And for some species, to live in harmony with other species.
It would seem that only Man has an interest in :
Anything beyond the grave.
Anything spiritual.
A purpose beyond the first four mentioned.
Being obsessed with origin and a beginning.
One thing I am certain all should take note of is that engaging produces :
More life and living
More pleasure
More fulfillment
More capability
More friendship
and more character.
I do believe that we are here to enjoy life and spread that joy.
As creatures of habit, who develop most of our capabilities through patterning as we negotiate the maze which is life, we are very much a product of our past experiences combined with our choices during those experiences.
We have the capacity to choose, and it is interesting to observe the choices we make, bearing in mind the vast array of options and the incredible disparity in achievements in our quest to fulfill our individual purposes.
I would say that the meaning of life is LIFE
Pixabay, Google Images (labeled for reuse)
Lovely reading here! Thanks very much! 🎶 Life is life... nah nah nah nah nah
If we are created, the meaning of life is simple to evolve true free will, since it cannot be created by default. Anything created will exist out of the will of another, and act as created to act. The creation must forget and deny it was created and return by free will :)
Peace
Your assumption is that the creation was the will of another.
But if all spirit (the force which acts) is one, or many yet linked as one, and the essence of energy, and all matter is energy in formation, which formation or pattern dictates material attributes, like impenetrability, then all new spiritual pockets, i.e. all living things as we know them, are created by that one spiritual entity, which is comprised of all spirit and therefore there is no entity separate from that which does the creating, bearing in mind that the true meaning of the word create is to organize, as in organizing existing energy/matter into alternate forms, since energy and matter cannot be destroyed or come into being but only change state. Hence there is essentially only a self creation or reorganization, ad-infinitum.
Any word would do really since its not possible to convey on a mental level, that would guide the creations and defeat free will. Start and end is the same yes, so it is reorganization, but creation out of existing things are equal to reorganization, and everything has and will always exist.
In my personal opinion, I don't believe there is one, and I'm honestly ok with it. There are great many things I enjoy in this life, and I don't need any single unified purpose. In fact having such "purpose" would probably be quite a negative deal for me. What if I don't like it? Not everything needs meaning, some things just happen, I think.
In my experience, people who believe as you seem to, and I've known very many, including a relation who has written prolifically on the subject of Humanism, knowledge etc, as a world renowned intellectual and Doctor , tend to reflect more and adjust their perspective as they approach the end of the winter of life, if they get there, and to develop that caring you don't have on the subject of purpose, future life or no life and God or no God.
What if you don't like it? Well if there is a chance of not liking it, then I guess one aught to ensure that preparations are made to make it as likable as possible, since the duration is said to be infinite.
Yes, things just happen, and a good purpose is to be ever more prepared to accommodate whatever happens with the least displeasure.
the meaning of life is clearly spelt out when you close your inner person to the past experiences and later open that eye insde you to the light that shines on you day by day and that is the Grace of God which your sitting under now.
The meaning of the life is way front of you and this is determined by the way you subscribe to it through your belief system and how u perceive it. The past brings about tears but the life a head is filled with hope.
FAITH, HOPE, LOVE but love is the greatest remember Jesus said this. Amen.
The past is officially dead, the present is our opportunity to enjoy and provide for the future.
Those who believe in living only for the present would not be very happy if they truly followed that theory as a pleasant future certainly requires preparation, which preparation can only happen in the present.
For me life is a school, we came to learn, but I can internalize this.
Life is indeed a school. That is the actual purpose of this portion of our existence. Graduation with honours brings matchless, even unspeakable rewards.
Nice post , good one.. keep posting
Nowadays life is more diffulit to spend in world.
Where should I spend it ?, in cyberspace ? :)
Very deep indeed. @zoraidaj, my sentiments also lie with yours in that we are here to learn. This ties intrinsically to the above article. As we learn, and our knowledge expands on reality (or universal truth) , our joy becomes greater.
Very well researched , thoughtprovoking Post! Congratulations.
Apologies for introducing levity, the very first Monty Python Movie was also entitled" The Meaning of Life" but was obviously not meant to be taken seriously.
Thanks :) I think the meaning of life question may well have been the motivation for Monty Python, when their antics are seen as a means of coping with and expressing the pointlessness which I believe its members felt was the upshot of their perspective.
Cleese claims to have grown much since then and has some rather different views.
I enjoyed reading your post, thank you.
And most of the comments.
Enjoyed most of the comments or read most of the comments ?
Add a pearl of wisdom :)
Exactly what i have been looking for... Thumbs up
I was away in Kimberley and couldn't resteem this excellent post. No password! I am home and look forward to more!
Thank you :)