I’m not much of a deep thinker but on occasion I enjoy to ponder on things small and sometimes great. The meaning of life or trying to figure it out is a concept that is as old probably as the human race. Even though it is a historical classic in terms if philosophy, how relevant is it today in contemporary times?
Do a big portion of us still ponder upon the mysteries of our existence? Trying to work out how to fulfill the true meaning of life or maybe even just to motivate themselves in an ever mundane cycle? Or is it simply all about making the best of what you’ve got whilst still trying to obtain the latest gadgets? However relevant it might be in our current era, what is the actually meaning of life? And where do you even start to work out what it might be?
I don’t want to seem conceited but I was lucky enough to have figured out what I wanted to do with my life at a fairly young age. As I was sat in a history class with our teacher talking about an inventor who lived long ago I remember thinking that I wanted to be remembered after I’m gone as well. At this stage I was already very fond of drawing, even though I wasn’t necessarily very good at it. I figured that if I were to be remembered for something, I would have to do it for a very long time so it might as well be something I liked, I would be an artist. And that is how it started out for me something simple sparked the idea in me but before long it became more about the art and the act of creating it more than anything else. Being an artist has been my goal, what has given me meaning in life, ever since.
So is that then what it is all about; making something with your life, making a mark on history for when you are gone? Or is it maybe about being the best that you can be, to help improve the world around you with your actions?
Maybe it is grander and less selfish still. It is easy for us as humans to think of life as something that means only or mostly us. We are in the center and everything else circles around us. But if you look at it from an outside point of view there is so much more to it than just us. We are only a small part of an ecosystem that makes up our whole planet. And for every living being there is something we all have in common and that is to procreate, to pass on our genes and genetic makeup. Some would call it mere survival or you could even look at it in terms of survival of the fittest but we still come back to “why?”
Why is every living being trying to survive, are we all unknowingly trying to evolve into something higher, is that the meaning?
Looking at the tiniest microscopic lifeforms and their life cycles to the life span of stars, galaxies and universes we all play our part of the whole.
Is it as religion would have us believe that we are all a part of God’s grand scheme and we have to do our best to fit into that role?
Perhaps its not amazingly profound and its simply about leading a good happy life, having your own meaning to motivate you through your days. Helping those around us and being compassionate and understanding. To find someone to share your life with and in doing so making yourself and somebody else happy. Is our purpose to spread contentment and appreciation one person at a time until we all see eye to eye and no one will feel the need to go to war over differences in ideology or culture?
Whatever the meaning of life might be, be it personal, spiritual, interplanetary or otherwise I’m sure that if we strive to be the best that we can be, that is all we for certainty can do.
-jeanie