It’s become something of a joke. An old man sitting on a mountaintop, an earnest seeker climbing the mountain to ask the holy man the Question! (Why does the ultimate question always have to come with embellishments, anyway?) The old man allows the seeker to approach and says, “What do you wish?”
“Oh holy one, what is (drum roll please) the meaning of life?
“Oy,” says the old man, “I though you was gonna ask me a hard one! That’s easy! Not being DEAD… is the meaning of life.” Or something equally banal.
Don’t get me wrong, not being dead is a good thing. Ask anyone… except a Goth. But after gorging ourselves on food, oxygen, warmth, excess income, sex, and our favorite chemical recreations, a few of the more thoughtful among the human race begin to ask the next question: “Is that it?” The hedonist’s answer would be, “NO… now you go after more of the same!” The existentialist would say, “Is what it?”, the nihilist would reply, “Oh, nothing…”
Everyone answers the question a little differently. Some say to look within, others insist on trusting an outside power, still others try to tell you that the question has no meaning, and you should forget the whole business. The actual answer is a bit elusive – some would call it double-talk, but here goes: the meaning of life is the meaning you give to it. Seems simple, doesn’t it? Maybe even a bit too simple. Actually, the answer is correct, it’s the question that needs clarification.
To state the question more succinctly, I would suggest that what most people want to know is, “Is there a Grand Scheme of All Things, and where do I fit in, if at all?” The answer to that question requires a lifetime to answer. Because, in plain point of fact, a worthwhile and meaningful life is not a destination to be attained, it’s a lifelong journey whose full worth you can only understand at the end of it all. This is not a journey to be undertaken lightly. What you’re actually seeking in this case is not knowledge, but wisdom – and the road ahead is rough, dangerous and largely unmarked. You’ll have to trust me on this one. I can’t help you, because no one can. All I can pass along are a few guidelines, a suggestion or two, and my best wishes. Come back and tell us what you found.
Some guidelines for internal reinforcement:
- Read the Bible. I don’t care if you’ve been a Baptist all your life or have never had any interest in religion of any kind; there’s stuff in there you need to know. Skip around as you like but read the book of John from cover to cover. Leave the rest until you feel you’re ready for it. Whatever you do, don’t try to start at Genesis and read through! You’ll never make it past Numbers, I promise you. Also – don’t think you have to join a study group (unless you want to) or read the book in a style you don’t understand. Modern language Bibles are everywhere, in all different languages. Above all, and this is going to sound contradictory – think for yourself! Don’t let anyone else ever tell you what the words mean, unless you’re completely stumped.
- Keep a journal. I’ve said this several times – there’s nothing like writing your own thoughts down on paper to force you to look at how silly they really are. If you can write a little bit every day, wonderful! If not, don’t worry about it. Just keep at it. You’ll discover your own reasons for this as you go, but the primary reason is clarity. If your own thoughts aren’t clear, the confusion will spread to the rest of you.
- Read everything you can get your hands on. Any subject – you choose. And try to vary your reading habits whenever you feel the need. The point here is mental discipline. It requires nothing of you mentally to sit and be entertained by someone else. Listening to music is better, but you still aren’t totally involved. Reading sets up patterns of logic and thought that will help you in seemingly unrelated situations. Also – knowledge is power. This simple phrase is a great deal truer than most people realize.
- The less you talk, the more you learn. This helps you develop another important skill: listening. Also, when you listen to someone else, stop what you’re thinking and really listen. By far the majority of people either impatiently wait for the other person to stop talking so that they can finish their own thought or are busily formulating and amending their own rebuttal to whatever the other is saying while the other is still talking! This is incredibly rude, and a great cause for anger and strife. Which brings us to:
- Above all, do no harm to anyone or anything. We all make mistakes. We all say and do things whether consciously or not which harm our relationships: to each other, to ourselves, to the things and creatures around us, and even to the very planet we live upon. The more we consciously avoid doing harm, the more peace and harmony we create around us and within ourselves.
- Echoing the previous statement, be kind to yourself. Most people spend far too much time and effort berating themselves for real or imagined shortcomings. This is wasteful of your energy, destructive of happiness and joy, and colors all your dealings with others. When Christ said, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself,” he meant for you to learn to love yourself, too. To quote a different source, “This above all, to thine own self be true, for it follows as night follows the day, that if thou be true to thyself, thou canst not then be false to any man.” (apologies to Bill)
- Express yourself creatively. It doesn’t matter whether you sing, dance, paint, do needlepoint, tell goofy jokes or draw stick figures, if it expresses how you feel – go for it. One caveat: don’t hurt anybody. That includes hurting people’s feelings. You may say, “Why should I care what they think?” Remember the Law of Reciprocity – it’ll probably come back to haunt you. But as far as art goes, pretty much anything goes. Not everyone’s going to like it. Most people probably won’t understand it (unless you get really good – more on that later). At the most basic level, art is good for the artist. For one thing, it teaches you how to see.
- Take calculated risks. Nothing of significance or worth is ever accomplished without risk. A baby risks its knees and head when it tries to walk, and it falls constantly, but eventually – success! Again, a warning: notice that middle word – calculated. Running off blindly into a dangerous situation can get you killed. You don’t learn much that way. Not even how bad an idea it really was. Conversely, never getting yourself “into a bind”, never pushing out from shore, always “playing it safe” is just as dangerous. You run the risk of being one of those sad beings who “never feel either joy or sorrow, just a mild sense of disgust” (Rostand, loosely translated). Not my choice of fates, thank you.
- Think for yourself! I’ve said this a lot already, and I’ll keep saying it. Your brain was not put in there to keep your head from collapsing. If you don’t like what others are saying or doing, go your own way. Just because another person is older than you, has more education, makes more money or is your supposed “leader” – it doesn’t mean he’s right all the time. Even a genius is wrong sometimes. Don’t follow authority of any kind blindly. That leads to tragedy.
If we can each learn to think and act creatively, compassionately and truthfully, respect ourselves as well as others, and take joy in the simple act of living each day, we can live fuller lives and go a long way to curing the ills of our world.
Does all this sound like a lot? Does it seem like I’m placing an impossible task in front of you? Actually, this is one of the simpler and easier things that any person can do to create their own life. It simply requires a change of perspective. I haven’t even begun to get into the rough stuff yet. Most people, if they’re thoughtful and a tiny bit inquisitive, will come up with a similar plan of their own. So, find your own path – find your own meaning for life.
pax et ama
TGC