I am born, so what now ?
Considering, that this is the first post after my introduction, i thought it would be appropriate to write, speak and discuss on what the meaning of life is or why we keep waking up for the next day.
This is a really cheesy philosophical question, which has been digested so many times, it doesn't even look like a proper question now. BUT it is still the beginning question of our philosophical and psychological journey and generally the map of the island called "LIFE".
What should you expect from this, dear viewer ? Basically just a conversation on why you are alive and what are you doing or planning to do towards your death.
So lets begin.
I am lost, tell me where to go...
Lets look at our life from a really superficial point of view. We come from nothingness, at least consciously, and are thrown into a crazy and chaotic world, with only our parents (if we are lucky) to guide us in the first years of our life. Our livelihood is absolutely dependent on the mother's organism until we mature enough and are able to survive alone (food, water, hygiene etc.). Our actions are driven by food and security, until we develop the most beautiful skill of curiosity and exploration, which opens the doors to the world and life.
If, again, we are lucky enough to have the possibility to ask questions we come to a point where we need to decide, why we were brought to this world. If we are not lucky, our actions, thoughts and dreams are simply propagated to us and we follow this path until we die or undergo a drastic transformation.
So where does this puts us ? We have two possible scenarios for our life in context of the above mentioned information. Lets look at them.
First scenario: "Don't study physics, you won't earn any kind of money!" "Art is just a luxury, it won't feed your family!" "Look at [person x] he is doing so well, why don't you try it?!" "Don't touch that, don't run, don't speak nonsense..." "Our country needs brave people to defeat the enemy! Join now!"...
We are thought how to live, but we haven't learned how to live. This are two different things. To be thought means to be given strict rules dictating life. To learn means to individually search for the force driving us into the future. The dictation is done trough culture, family, friends, society, famous individuals, books, games, movies and everything else, which pours information into our heads, including this post. The problem of this scenario is that most of the time we put little to no effort in recognizing if this fits our life, our individuality or our purpose, but on the other hand it is an easy way to achieve meaning and get a purpose in life.
WARNING: Side effects might include: Unsatisfactory relationship. Bad habits. Meaningless job. Chance of going depressed, realizing the meaninglessness of our achievements.
Second scenario. We were given the opportunity to get lost and to make mistakes. To be able to decide after high-school, that we want to try painting, but failing miserably, to decide next, that we want to study law, but to not be able to comprehend the difficulty of law terminology, rules etc. To decide, that maybe we just want to escape society and then return back to it. To do mistakes, until in the end we just simply decide to open a small bar in a forgotten street of a big city. All this gives us the opportunity to go back to the childish curiosity and view the world as a sandbox, without rules or boundaries. But we humans are creatures of order and security, so in the end we will always find a routine, but this routine will hopefully fit our frame of consciousness.
WARNING: Side effects might include: No motivation. Feeling of unworthiness. Small achievements compared to others.
The frame of consciousness ?!?!
Here we come to the first problem on this topic. What is a frame of consciousness and does it exist ? We can look divide the explanation into two fields. Esoteric/Philosophical and Scientific/Psychological.
The abstract one: We are energy. We are the universe. We are small gods, who decided to have fun in the material realm. Our whole structure and existence is only possible trough the blueprints of the universe. A famous saying putting things into perspective is:
This way of thinking focuses on our individuality, giving us a special meaning, an important role. Thus the first milestone in this approach. Seek not for meaning in the external world, but in the inner. The meaning is you.
Combining this with the first and second scenarios presented above, we have:
First scenario. I was a plant in a pot. The window showed a different word, but my place was in the pot.
Second scenario. I was a free bird, a flower, not in a pot, but in nature. I could spread my seeds everywhere and only the sky was my limit. Through the opportunity of exploration i was able to find the spot on the ground, which is perfect for me to grow and die.
The scientific explanation of the frame of consciousness: We have all heard the words genetics and determinism ( or for simplifying it, fate). This two words could be perfectly enough to explain the conscious framework trough science. Our individuality is constituted by the genes of our ancestors, thus we can view ourselves as a new, improved version of a previous individual. There is a high probability, that if the parents are intellectuals, their children will be as well. The same applies for the negatives. If the parents are prone to alcoholism, so are the children. After genetics comes evolution. Our first purpose on this planet was survival (many will argue, that this is still the only meaning to life, but i do find it quite boring.) and this purpose still shapes a lot of our actions, decisions and thoughts. For example why do we like certain things and not others ? A famous theory presented by Tom Vanderbilt in his books: "You may also like: Taste in an Age of endless choice" and "Traffic: Why we drive the way we do" says, that we survived by observing the consequences of the actions of our neighbors. If i have an apple and i have a stone, i look at my neighbor and observe, that he eats the apple and doesn't die and another one who tries to eat the stone and breaks all his (like two left) teeth. I will of course eat the apple.
This method evolved as did society, but in the end i still think it is quite obvious in modern times. Why is certain music so popular? Why are there trends ? We continue to do that, which benefits the others, with the idea, that it will benefit us.
So lets try to use this in our first and second scenario:
First scenario: "My parents are lawyers and they earn a lot of money, they seem happy and fulfilled. I rarely see them, but when i do they always gift me something. My father always told me, that he will be proud of me if i follow his footsteps. One of my friends from school went to study game design, but my parents said its stupid and profitless, compared to helping people and saving lives. So i ended up studying law. It was hard and boring, but everyone told me, that it will be worth it. Thus i became rich and constantly busy, without time for my children and wife. But that's life. Work hard to be someone. Or was i wrong ?"
Second scenario: "My mother and father got divorced, because my mother kept drinking and my father was never at home. I ended up with my mother, but she didn't have much time for me, so i grew up on the street with my friends. We smoked, drank and at one point as we grew up, everyone found something to do. I felt lost and scared. I kept drinking and smoking alone, but at one point i met a girl. She was interested in Art and just went to university. I tried university, i tried Art, but it didn't work out. I got interested in History, trough my Art lessons and did a bachelor in History. I became a teacher, it was cool speaking with the youth again. I had children and it was the best feeling, since my marriage. I was lucky, that somebody found me, or did i found myself ? "
Stop talking bullshit and get to the point!
Okay, okay.
We either get the meaning from somebody or we create it for ourselves. Is this simple enough ? And most of the times it is the meaning that we created, that gives the greater joy of life. There are many, many factors and details, which i promise to discuss into the future, but for now it is simply important to ask the question and understand the question. What are we going to do until we die and why are we doing it ?
Are we going to help people, hurt them or ignore them ? Or are we going to play games, fuck like crazy and forget the day, because its simply fun ? Are we going to create a family, only because we know we must, or are we going to create one, because we want to see little versions of ourselves and love them immerse ? Do we get a job, which is boring, but pays a lot in order to buy stuff we want or do we get a job, which is so fulfilling it doesn't require us to buy other things ?
There is no right or wrong, there is only me and you. My version of life and your version of life. But who are you ? What are you ? Why are you ?
What did i learn Monstroz?
Good question dear reader!I hope you learned that life has no inherent meaning, it is simply you who is the meaning in the world. Happiness, sadness, money, fame, gratitude, knowledge, justice, family, love... All the words are simply sounds, which you give meaning to. As long as the meaning you have given to the phenomenon life and as long as the purpose you feel and believe in produce a smile on your face and motivation to wake up, everything is going fine. If not... just ask and you will find.
Thank you dear viewer for giving this post meaning!
Yours truly, Monstroz.!
And don't forget. The end is just another beginning.