Meaning in life

Have you found meaning in your life? If so, what is it that you have found to have meaning?

Me? I am still looking and not very hopeful I will ever find it.

 

Well you heard the cliché: it's not the destination but the way getting there that is the most essential. So the meaning is to look/search. I'm mostly observing nowadays though

 

It seems like if there is meaning in life, most of it (for me) comes from observing and attempting to make sense of what I see, if that is even possible.

 

To assume that is possible and an urge to strive for it is what it seems to be for me too.

 

I think children did it for me. I had my opinions about most everything when I was very young, but other than that, it was day by day. Which " live here, now" was OK, but being responsible for little ones got me more centered.

 

To expand and refine.

Mentally, not physically.. although the physical is an intrinsic part of that, but I mean, I don't mean the American way of physically expanding. I like being able to see my toes.

 

There is no meaning to life, that's why it's hard to add some. I wonder why people need to add meaning to it, maybe because of some sort of false insecurity.

That being said, if anything I can find 'meaning' in travelling and exploring different cultures. For others it might be 40 years of 9-to-5ing. Or having kids.
It's all just to make yourself feel good. I suppose that is the ultimate 'meaning' we can give to our lives.

 

There's meaning?

 

Life having meaning, I think, translates into being present in the "now".

It's not about longing for days gone by and it's not about chasing some carrot dangling constantly out of reach.

If a person is present in the moment, then there you have it.

The meaning of life is to experience living.

You cannot do that looking backward, nor forward. That's dreaming, not living.

 

i agree with bird and aerianne...i think maybe there is no meaning / there is whatever meaning that you want to attribute to it.

for me, experiencing life is pretty much enough. as long as i can incorporate some cool experiences into my life - like traveling, always learning new things.

i love spending time with my wife, just joking around, laughing, even doing nothing.


living in the NOW like aerianne said. i find that getting out in nature can help me do that. but when you are tying to better your life, or plan for the future...it's hard to live in the now. you can't always.



maybe Pressed Rat's meaning to life is extending it by healthy living!

 

Perhaps this will provide an answer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvWh6PMi9Ek"]Werner Herzog Reads Where's Waldo - YouTube


Oh---but Scratcho brings up children as providing for him, a new perspective on the meaning of life. Ja, I must include this then:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57EDxvldLD4"]Werner Herzog Reads Madeline - YouTube

 

...on a more serious note:

I agree-----I think the meaning of life is to experience. Unfortunately there are good experiences and bad experiences---but they are all experiences. We learn, we gain memories, we experience---and if we focus on the good ones...

 

The insecurity argument could go both ways.. the way you've described, but also, what are you trying to prove by not giving life any meaning?

 

Not trying to prove anything, just sharing my thoughts.

 

Yeah, I wasn't digging you.. I was also just sharing thoughts, no offence meant

It's a slippery fish of a topic, the epitome of ambiguity

 

How human is is to seek meaning. Your question has sparked religion, philosophy, and much of life as we know it.

As far as I can tell, the world is just a series of causes and effects, each thing happening only because of the things that came before it.

Where does that leave humans in a search for meaning? With a lot of good questions, but no good answers.

 

I find meaning in little things throughout my day. My son,, my friends and family, the possibility of new experiences and new adventures, spending time in nature. I don't think life necessarily has meaning in any profound sense of the word, but I think your life has meaning as long as you can find joy in it.

 

life
/lʌɪf/
noun
noun: life; plural noun: lives; noun: one's life; plural noun: one's lifes
1.
the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death.
"the origins of life"synonyms: existence, being, living, animation, aliveness, animateness; More
entity, sentience, creation, survival, viability;

"only a mother can appreciate the joy of giving life to a child"
antonyms: death, non-existence


living things and their activity.
"lower forms of life"synonyms: living things, living beings, living creatures, the living; More
human/animal/plant life, fauna, flora, ecosystems, creatures, wildlife;
human beings, humanity, humankind, mankind, man, human activity;
literaryflesh
"armaments that threaten to eliminate life on the planet"

2.
the existence of an individual human being or animal.
"a disaster that claimed the lives of 266 people"synonyms: person, human being, individual, mortal, soul, creature

 

Do I smell sarcasm?

Nevertheless, good point. You would think that if I found life to be meaningless, I would be doing things to help bring it to a quicker end rather than prolong it. To do otherwise is absurd, right?

I guess that while I am alive I would prefer to be healthy. If I was to die an early death, I would rather it be voluntarily than involuntarily.

I think health is something that interests me more than something I pursue as a means of prolonging life. I also look at optimizing my physical health as a way of compensating for my bleak outlook on life, which has a way of taking its toll on the body.