Is There A Meaning To Life? Essay, Research Paper

Is there a meaning to life?

First, to clear up any misunderstandings in the next few paragraphs you are about to read, I shall explain a few things. I am not talking about the individual people in our lives, that mean so much to us, or individual lives. That is a whole other matter. What I mean by the “meaning of life”, is the greater picture. There are people all over the world, doing their own thing, living their own lives, in their own areas. Is there a point to this? The people themselves, benefit from learning and having experiences while they’re alive, but then they die, and all they have accomplished, ends. Then the process begins all over again with the next generation. So one purpose for life is established. We are here to reproduce. It has been genetically coded into us, and with little prompting, we continue to produce tiny versions of ourselves. But, is there a POINT to this?

Well, I solemnly believe not.

Some people say the point of life, is to have fun and make others happy. Righto then. Sure, that’s a good thing to do, I don’t disagree with that. But in terms of the big picture, what does it exactly accomplish? A person lives their life, has fun, and perhaps has the knack of making lots of other people happy in the process, then that person dies. And so eventually, do all the other people they brought happiness to. And through different generations come people who have the same philosophy….same thing, just happening later in time, with different people. Nothing has been accomplished…So, this obviously cannot be the point of life, unless it’s inventor has the same intellect as that of pond scum. I would like to think otherwise, so I am interested in finding another answer.

Other people believe that God is the point of life. God gives us a booklet of rules and regulations, for us to be eligible to receive his personal ‘attention’. We respect his wishes and act accordingly, as to how we believe he would like us to act. Then, it is thought, he looks after us and takes care of us. I find this theory hard to grasp…God, usually, is seen as this great celestial being, that is far more advanced and powerful than any person here on Earth. He has these ‘talents’ and powers by simply…not being one of us. So, there’s God….Way up there, looking down upon us. Earth must seem like a little ant farm to him. If he’s up there, looking down and watching over us, how is it so many horrible things happen in the world? Some of you may say it’s because the people that these things happened to, weren’t behaving how they should have been, how God would have liked them to. Or that God allows us to make choices, good or bad. Ok, then that would mean to me that God is an unforgiving and unsympathetic, celestial meanie. Why should he watch us create misery, see wars break out, while he remains aloof, superior and more powerful than us? I say that’s unfair. Perhaps one reason for him would be, because it’s more ‘fun’ to us be so ‘handicapped’ in the celestial scheme of things. It provides more entertainment, more adventure, and it’s harder. And because it’s harder, he knows there will be more rewards for us when we succeed in being “good”. Something is obviously amiss with this plan, since we continue to do the same things over and over again through the generations, and centuries. We just do not learn this particular philosophy of his. Perhaps he could have let us work the controls? Do you think God has been GOOD at it? Heck no. Look at the world’s history…It hasn’t exactly been a bed full of roses. Sure, God tried. But while the footy game was on tv, he forgot to cut some of the thorns off the roses when he was preparing Earth’s future. You reckon we could do any worse? I don’t think so. Seems to me we’d all have just as much luck, even more so, at running a world, than God would. Even if God really was this powerful, wise, kind and forgiving fellow, why is he running a world? He obviously hasn’t succeeded in achieving much. Humanity hasn’t made any real accomplishments (I’m not talking technology…I’m talking about discovering anything that would lead us to understanding why we are here at all). What’s in it for him, to be our celestial babysitter? Is it to see the reward of us succeeding, and being ‘at one’ with ourselves? If that was it, then when will somebody please explain to him that that’s impossible, unless he renders us all as vegetables. Humans have been given a mind that allows us to think, to ponder, to contemplate. If we are in a thinking state, don’t you think SOMETHING will come across our minds, in the period of existing and experiencing that will trigger off a thought of not being, so ‘pleased-as-punch’ with ourselves? Highly likely, I would say. Maybe God wants us to ‘learn’ from our mistakes, and that is the challenge/point of life? If that’s the case, God is not as wise as we all thought. The lucky people that do learn their important lessons through life, all inevitably die, and so too, does their knowledge and experiences. Ah, but what about history text, you say. I don’t know about you, but I’ve noticed that we, as a people, tend to only ‘really’ understand the importance of lessons until we’ve learnt them ourselves. First generation learns, profits from that information, then dies. Second generation, does the same thing. Nothing gained in the big picture there. You might say the answer to this ‘going around the mulberry bush’, might be for the young people to simply take heed of what their elders say, no questions asked. That would take away the time period of the second generation re-living what the first did, but then you’d have a bunch of experience-less people, with no curiosity or incentive of their own. That’s no good. It would be even more worse that what’s going on now. At least now, we experience and learn for ourselves, instead of simply doing what we’ve been told is the ‘right thing to do’. Even if we did learn from our mistakes through the generations, there’s only so many mistakes to be made on a personal level. Then what? Will God wipe our slates clean anyway, as if we had died and lost all our knowledge? Or do we get a whole new set of things we must learn? If those were out options, I would strongly propose that we barge into God’s office and tie him up. Let us work the controls for a while, eh?

Another popular belief to the reason of life, is to ‘find yourself’. This one, I find particularly amusing. If the point in life, is to ‘find’ ones self, what has one been doing until this point in time? ‘Not knowing’ ones self? Pretty impossible…It’s the first thing anyone learns. After that has been accomplished, we then find it a bit easier to interract with others, and understand them. For someone to tell me that they’ve only just ‘discovered’ themself, I tend to wonder what exactly they’ve been doing for all the years they’ve been around.. I understand that people, all of a sudden, can recognize a new side to themselves. It was always there though, they just weren’t giving it much thought and/or priority to understanding it. Besides, even if people really did all of a sudden, ‘discover’ themselves, how is THAT the point of life? Perhaps it may be a significant development in their life, but that’s not the point to LIFE, as in the big picture. You know…. existence, filled with so many other people. If everyone understood the point to life as being born, living, discovering their self, then dying, isn’t that a rather arrogant and self-centered pointless world? I think it would be.

I do not wish my opinions to shout out at people, ‘THERE IS NO POINT….DIG YOURSELF A HOLE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE’. Killing yourself, you see, is equally as pointless as life (if anyone thinks of any new theories, please let me know). Don’t be depressed, I have not been talking about ‘life as we live it’. That, is completely different, more relevant and more meaningful. It is important to live (we have no other option), to hopefully enjoy the ride, and also interract positively with others that are doing the same thing. Other people, bring new perspectives and ideas into your mind. New influences, ideas and experiences that cause us to learn and become more rounded and hopefully less arrogant and ignorant. We never know what will happen next. Everything is brand new to us, until after we have experienced it. We can’t predict exactly what will happen, when, where and why. That’s what makes it rather fun, living day to day like that. Even though I believe life to be ultimately pointless, we are existing whether we like it or not. Because we really have no say in the matter, or choice about what ‘being’ (celestial, human, critter, algae etc) we get to be, to ‘play the game’, we really should find some way to reach happiness. However you may define happiness. Perhaps it’s being alone and secluded from the world? That would actually be even more pointless, but….I have no say in the matter, and if that’s what makes you happy, that’s the best thing you can do. For most of us though, we enjoy interracting with others, and receiving input other than our own. So there is a point to day to day life, and that will have to be enough, until a true reason for life has been established and you get to play a part in it. Happiness, is all we have at the moment to strive towards. So, cling on to it! Once you reach a state of happiness, enjoy it, and share it with everyone you know. Who knows, they may be long over due!

Love is the secret of happiness and is the most important element in our existence. Giving our love to others, always comes back to us. Perhaps not in the way we expect, but it comes back in a way that will make our lives richer and more meaningful. Love has a power to connect us with other people and allows us to be the best we can be. And then there’s love for the animals, a beautiful sunset, and, of course, love for the world we live in (who knows, maybe if we all felt love for the world we live in at the same time, something exciting ‘might’ happen. Aw well…)

Is it better to be ignorant, or intelligent, when the realization hits that life is virtually meaningless? Perhaps it would be better to be a dog, oblivious to the concept of a meaning to life (I’m not talking about them giving love to their owners…but the bigger picture). Would you prefer to know there was no big plan, and have your bubble burst, or would it be better for you not to know at all? I say, it’s better to know. Then, you can get on with doing other things. You might say it makes no difference, but with intellect, you have the capacity to do different, and more challenging things with the understanding that you stand alone in this world, unique and irreplacable.

I hope I have not upset anyone terribly with my thoughts on the matter. I am comfortable with my conclusions, am happy with my life, and do not need counselling. *indignant* There is a point to day to day life, but with the ‘big-picture’ major faults and queries just jump out at me. Perhaps a little disappointed at the lack of celestial preparation, but….