"What is the meaning of life?" is a question many people ask
themselves at some point during their lives, most in the context "What
is the purpose of life?".
[10] Some popular answers include:
To realize one's potential and ideals
- To chase dreams.[135]
To live one's dreams.[136]
- To spend it for something that will outlast it.[137]
- To matter: to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived at all.[137]
- To expand one's potential in life.[136]
- To become the person you've always wanted to be.[138]
- To become the best version of yourself.[139]
- To seek happiness[140][141] and flourish.[3]
- To be a true authentic human being.[142]
- To be able to put the whole of oneself into one's feelings, one's work, one's beliefs.[137]
- To follow or submit to our destiny.[143][144][145]
- To achieve eudaimonia,[146] a flourishing of human spirit.
To achieve biological perfection
To seek wisdom and knowledge
Philosopher in Meditation (detail) by
Rembrandt
- To expand one's perception of the world.[136]
- To follow the clues and walk out the exit.[157]
- To learn as many things as possible in life.[158]
To know as much as possible about as many things as possible.[159]
- To seek wisdom and knowledge and to tame the mind, as to avoid suffering caused by ignorance and find happiness.[160]
- To face our fears and accept the lessons life offers us.[143]
- To find the meaning or purpose of life.[161][162]
- To find a reason to live.[163]
- To resolve the imbalance of the mind by understanding the nature of reality.[164]
To do good, to do the right thing
- To leave the world as a better place than you found it.[135]
To do your best to leave every situation better than you found it.[135]
- To benefit others.[6]
- To give more than you take.[135]
- To end suffering.[165][166][167]
- To create equality.[168][169][170]
- To challenge oppression.[171]
- To distribute wealth.[172][173]
- To be generous.[174][175]
- To contribute to the well-being and spirit of others.[176]
- To help others,[3][175] to help one another.[177]
To take every chance to help another while on your journey here.[135]
- To be creative and innovative.[176]
- To forgive.[135]
To accept and forgive human flaws.[178][179]
- To be emotionally sincere.[137]
- To be responsible.[137]
- To be honorable.[137]
- To seek peace.[137]
Meanings relating to religion
- To reach the highest heaven and be at the heart of the Divine.[180]
- To have a pure soul and experience God.[137]
- To understand the mystery of God.[143]
- To know or attain union with God.[181][182]
- To know oneself, know others, and know the will of heaven.[183]
- To love something bigger, greater, and beyond ourselves, something
we did not create or have the power to create, something intangible and
made holy by our very belief in it.[135]
- To love God[181] and all of his creations.[184]
- To glorify God by enjoying him forever.[52][185]
- To go and make new disciples of Jesus Christ.[186]
- To act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.[187]
- To be fruitful and multiply.[188] (Genesis 1:28)
- To obtain freedom (Romans 8:20-21)
- To fill the Earth and subdue it.[188] (Genesis 1:28)
To love, to feel, to enjoy the act of living
- To love more.[135]
- To love those who mean the most. Every life you touch will touch you back.[135]
- To treasure every enjoyable sensation one has.[135]
- To seek beauty in all its forms.[135]
- To have fun or enjoy life.[143][176]
- To seek pleasure[137] and avoid pain.[189]
- To be compassionate.[137]
- To be moved by the tears and pain of others, and try to help them out of love and compassion.[135]
- To love others as best we possibly can.[135]
To seek pleasure
- To eat, drink, and be merry.[190]
To have power, to be better
Life has no meaning
- Life or human existence has no real meaning or purpose because human
existence occurred out of a random chance in nature, and anything that
exists by chance has no intended purpose.[164]
- Life has no meaning, but as humans we try to associate a meaning or purpose so we can justify our existence.[135]
- There is no point in life, and that is exactly what makes it so special.[135]
One should not seek to know and understand the meaning of life
- The answer to the meaning of life is too profound to be known and understood.[164]
- You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.[135]
- The meaning of life is to forget about the search for the meaning of life.[135]
- Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but
rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is
questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his
own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible.[193]
Life is bad
- Life is a bitch, and then you die.[138]
- Better never to have been.[194]
I'm going to write about the meaning of life being what you make it, how nobody/nothing gave anything a purpose, the control is in your hands. I have an idea for a short story and a nonfiction piece, I'm thinking about a poem too.
ReplyDeleteDommy B thinks the meaning of life is highly objective. Science and knowledge and rapping and the essence of thought.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to base my project around "Life has no meaning, but as humans we try to associate a meaning or purpose so we can justify our existence."
ReplyDeleteSo far I know for sure that it'll include an absurdist play, but other than that I'm not quite sure.
I think I'm going to go with the meaning of life being to create and seek beauty in the world and to be connected with people and yourself through that creation. I'm going to be doing something with traditional henna body art, writing a poem, story, etc. For my non traditional stuff I think I'll do a video of face paint/henna, or just do a photo essay. Yeah, project stuff.
ReplyDeleteIm going to write about the reason of the meaning of life and what makes of it. How one can experience such meaning, etc. I'm thinking about writing a poem and a shorty story. Not quite sure yet. Still brainstorming.
ReplyDelete