I’ve been thinking a lot lately. A friend of mine asked a hard question: what makes life worth living? Or in other words: we are born, we live, we die. Is that it?
Being such a hard subject, I couldn’t answer quickly. I have this habit of thinking a lot before answering hard questions. Also, it’s embarrassing, at my age, to not know this already. The problem with the meaning of life is that it is something very personal and it changes over time, like everything does when new data are gathered. I am going to try to find a general answer, though.
Let’s see. The things that matter most in our lives are the things that are there for the duration of our whole life. Such constants are: oneself, others, the Earth, the Universe. Further, I will try to explain why these are the constants, why we should focus on them, and how we should treat other important things as variables, including family, career, passions, and possessions.
Oneself
We must live with ourselves all our life, whether we like it or not. So we better like ourselves, or change into somebody that we like, in order to live happily ever after. But do we really know ourselves that well? To create a healthy life-long relationship, we need a deep understanding of the other person, to be able to love and accept him or her with all their virtues and faults. The same is true of ourselves. We have to understand our body, our mind, and our feelings. If we know how they work, we are able to shape them. Thus, we can prevent, avoid, and diminish pain. Controlling pain leads to less fear. We are in charge now.
It sounds selfish, but it is a simple fact that we are the most important person in our life.
Let’s take some time to know ourselves better.
Others
Our lives depend on others. Here I also include other life forms. We cannot live without them. We ought to treat them like ourselves; that is, learn about them, listen to them and understand them. We can transform hate and indifference into respect and gratefulness. Just look around! Every little thing in our life is produced by something or somebody. There is no way we can make most of these things by ourselves. Isn’t it uplifting knowing that we can cooperate to survive? Cooperation is the only way that everyone can win – without it, someone has to lose. Then why are we threatening other people and other species? Is it because we don’t know, or we are indifferent, or we are scared of the unknown?
Let’s take some time to understand others.
The Earth
I guess you already know why the Earth is important in our life. Yes, it is the only home and spaceship we have. Our lives depend so much on it. Recently, we started to listen to it. Let’s hope we will understand what the Earth is saying before it is too late. It is unlikely that a miracle will happen, so we better prevent further damage. Do we really know what is going on and what can we do to help?
Let’s take some time to learn about our planet.
The Universe
Apparently, there is no “reason” for anything in the Universe, yet, if you look closer, you will find that everything is interconnected. There is a flow of causes and effects, unforeseeable emergence of complexity, ultimately leading to life, so that the Universe can know itself. Knowledge is the new toy, and it will be developed until it reaches the point of a new, unpredictable outcome. On a universal scale, it is very likely that we won’t find out what’s next in the grand scheme of things. Regardless, our purpose is to expand knowledge and limits. We already know a little about the Universe, but the real challenge is to touch it in order to know far more. Maybe our destiny is to reach the stars. We’ve been dreaming for millennia about it. Before leaving home we have to pass the maturity test: can we survive in our own world before trying to survive in a foreign one?
Let’s take some time to dream.
And Everything
Now, that the constants have been described, perhaps you’ve already figured out what the variables are - family, career, passions, possessions, etc. I call them variables because they can come and go, and in many cases there is not much we can do about it. Obviously, if we rely entirely on them, sooner or later we’ll be hurt by loss. Spending some time developing the constants will reduce the impact of variance. For instance, if we know and trust ourselves and others, then shocks like a divorce, or getting fired, or losing wealth, etc. will be less disastrous and recovery will be faster.
Although subject to change, these things are invaluable because they give us the opportunity to experience and discover ourselves and the world. However, we should take care that we do not identify ourselves with the family, career, possessions, etc. A somewhat detached point of view should be maintained so that we control our lives, not the external factors. When they do so, we feel trapped and thorn. Detachment is hard to achieve, but the result is to see things as they are.
Let’s take some time to see our lives from other perspectives.
Our life is a ship sailing on the sea of constants. Variable wind and waves are the events that make the ship struggle, stagnate or go forward full speed. It is up to the captain to make the right decision in order to reach the shore. Is the sea his friend or his enemy?
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After reviewing the text, I realized that this is a super-condensed version of my thoughts and it would take many pages to express my ideas fully. I hope I didn’t jump to conclusions without a good explanation, and in any case, I plan to develop the topic in future posts.
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