For centuries great philosophers have battled to solve this question. Even Deep Thought spent 10-million years pondering about it in the book by Douglas Adams, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
What is the meaning of life?
Seems quite ambitious to write down an answer in a couple of hundred words, but here’s my take on it.
For most, life is a struggle. Work, family, social pressures are all daily battles we are confronted with. A film springs to mind, one starring Will Smith, ‘The Pursuit of Happiness’. How many the struggles, life seems worth for those happy moments, the simple pleasures in life. We just want to be happy, and some go as far as to claim it is all they want in life.
Is happiness all we strive for? Is the pursuit of happiness the key to give meaning to our lives? For me it certainly isn’t. While being happy on this earth is definitely something we all strive for, there is definitely more to it.
We must dig deeper and understand why we want to be happy. We’re happy when we or someone at heart manage to fulfill their heart’s desires. Be it financial security, having a relationship with a long time crush or scoring a high score in Tetris, they are all indelible marks in our future. While bragging rights on high scoring tetris doesn’t get you far, having money and a soul mate are all signs of a brighter future.
Our future takes centre stage when making many existential choices. For me, making our future promising is the crux of living life. While pleasure and happiness are fleeting, being a positive change can outlast our mortality. Be it to yourself, your kids, workplace or the entire planet, your efforts will make a difference.
Some call it acting on ‘God’s will’, improving your karma, or straight up doing ‘the right thing’; call it what you want but, being in the driver seat to a positive and evergreen future definitely breathes meaning into your days, months and years.
Featured photos: ‘In deep thought?’ by Andreas Eldh
