what is the meaning of life?

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I used to have the answer: The meaning of life is to live it

Lately, I take a slightly different view: The meaning of life is to learn it

Have you thought about this lately? What is life all about? What's our purpose?

Why are we here?

anastasia

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What is the meaning of life?
What is the meaning of rain? What is the meaning of bees?

Can William Tell you of the arrow of time passing through his brain, or the smell of apples in the trees.

And don't think of a red fox running around a red barn, chasing a black rooster with feathers flying in the breeze, for there might be young lovers hiding in the loft, cuddling and afraid to sneeze.

The meaning of life is like a seemingly meaningless poem, its words a playful tease, a chance to see, or not see, whatever it is you please.

(Author's note: Is this poem meaningless, or does it contain hidden meaning? And if it contains hidden meanings, are they there intrinsically in the poem, or are they there in you, the reader?)

Best regards,
Smile

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The meaning of life is what you make of it, but what I think this boils down to is doing things that make you realise that you're a live and that you have some purpose. It could be we are just insignificant grains of sand in the grand cosmic scheme of things, I really have faith we are not. just my 2 Cents

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rosborne979 - nice poem - not meaningless at all, I think - one can read tons of things into it.

maybe life IS a concrete thing, like rain and bees - but even THEY have a meaning. the purpose of rain and bees is to keep the cycle of life going - so again I ask, what is the meaning of that life? it seems you take a philosophical (and roundabout <giggles>) view of that question. <nods> it's a nebulus concept, and I think everyone has their own answer - there is, in my opinion, no REAL meaning of life, in an "absolute truth" kind of way.

But your poem got me thinking about how important symbolism is in life. <nods>

husker - you joined a2k on my birthday. <g> I think that LIFE is what you make of it - I definitely believe that. I think that we have true power over own realities - and those of others. It's the "insignificant grains of sand" thing I wonder about - ARE we just that? That would suck. <winks>

thank you for your replies!

anastasia

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What is the meaning of life? Arguably you can say that it is just to procreate and that everything we have developed around us, culture, science and art, is merely a result of the evolutionary process to made us more successful as a species, its simply a very successful survival mechanism.

From your answer though, maybe your question is more like what is your personal purpose in life

For me its to live a long and fulfilling life without compromising my personal morals and ethics.

DeK

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It's what you make of the incredible fact that you EXIST at all, that you think & feel ....

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Perhaps a question that ought to be considered first is: IS THERE A MEANING TO LIFE???

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Did you see the Monty Python movie? Funny take on the question Very Happy

Quote:

The Meaning of Life

Why are we here? What's life all about?
Is God really real, or is there some doubt?
Well, tonight, we're going to sort it all out,
For, tonight, it's 'The Meaning of Life'.
What's the point of all this hoax?
Is it the chicken and the egg time? Are we just yolks?
Or, perhaps, we're just one of God's little jokes.
Well, ça c'est le 'Meaning of Life'.

Is life just a game where we make up the rules
While we're searching for something to say,
Or are we just simply spiralling coils
Of self-replicating DNA. Nay, nay, nay, nay, nay, nay.

In this 'life', what is our fate?
Is there Heaven and Hell? Do we reincarnate?
Is mankind evolving, or is it too late?
Well, tonight, here's 'The Meaning of Life'.

For millions, this 'life' is a sad vale of tears,
Sitting 'round with rien nothing to say
While the scientists say we're just simply spiralling coils
Of self-replicating DNA. Nay, nay, nay, nay, nay, nay.

So, just why-- why are we here,
And just what-- what-- what-- what do we fear?
Well, ce soir, for a change, it will all be made clear,
For this is 'The Meaning of Life'. C'est le sens de la vie.
This is 'The Meaning of Life'.

http://www.stone-dead.asn.au/movies/meaning-of-life/lyrics.html

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There is NO reason to speculate that life has a meaning!

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new haven - why not?

frank - I work under the assumption that a meaning can be taken out of life. So my answer to your question is "yes". <smiles>

<giggles> thanks, violet!

dek - that's kind of what I'm going for - what personal meanings do people take out of life? (maybe my question was too vague ... )

thanks. <g>

My personal take on the meaning of life is ... yeah - essentially, we don't KNOW what the meaning of life is, so while we're here, we may as well just make the most of what we're given (by whomever, I'm thinking more an intelligence than a deity). So, anyway, just like with any other absolute, it's pointless to ponder it. I take the important thing as the learning/evolutionary process - as they say - "The unexamined life is not worth living" - I think it's important to take something out of your experiences - come out of them a little smarter, kinda.

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my initial response, based upon Frank's digression (MP - tMoL) would be "43";

However it seems anastacia, you have successfully "raised the bar" here, judging from rosbourne's offerring, so..........

"Life" itself means absolutely nothing. All is chaos, all is random, all is entropy.
A vast surging of ideas, emotions, events, mass, protoplasm, everything down the "black hole" like, drain of time.

But then, what is "meaning"?

Being both subjective and objective, it is the essence of the impression forged into the ether by the "living" of our lives.

We "create" meaning; we do it when we smile at one another; we do it when we allow millions of lives to be lost in the name of "hate"; we do it when we chose..... anything!
We change the direction of the "whole", for better or worse.

Life is the ultimate responsibility!

Live it honestly, and fairly, and with passion, and you will have given "meaning" to your existence.

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Seems to me it is possible to live life with lots of meaning -- without life having a meaning in and of itself.

I make every effort to live a meaningful life -- although I doubt I'd get a large percentage of the general population to agree with me that what I consider meaningful -- is meaningful.

I suspect most people are in that same position.

Leading a meaningful life requires that you set your own standards of meaningfulness -- and live up to them.

But because you do so -- and even if every other being on the planet did so -- that would not mean that life has a meaning in the sense Anastasia asked her question.

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A personal motto of mine is that "I don't care what other people think of me". (That's not meant to be taken literally more to remind me that I should always be true to myself)

If it's meaningful to you and you alone in the whole world then it is meaningful!

I try live my life under a few concepts that help guide me on my way

What if I am the only real person, none of you really exist.
What if there really is no God or afterlife
When I come to the end of my life will I be happy with what I have done.

This doesn't mean that I feel the freedom to be a jerk with people; I still have a strong personal moral and ethical code. This is why I said that for me it's to live a long and fulfilling life without compromising my personal morals and ethics.

I'm very grateful for the chance to be able to do so

DeK

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Yes, Frank has brought out a big item on the "meaningful" list;

What is meaning ful to one is most definitley not to another.

What is namy pamby "liberal" codling behaviour to the "Me, Me, Me croud", is normal human kindness to any "sentient" human being.

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I stuck my head out the window today, and smelled the air, so
fragrant and fresh that I just closed my eyes and ... was there.

There is nothing more meaningful than that,
needed, wanted, or ever experienced.
I exist.

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yeah ... <smiles> I like that one.

stasia

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a baffling question the source of which could be traced far back to the antiquity. i used to think a lot about this and ended up in torturement of being left without an near-authoratative answer. things even get worse when you meet with setbacks in your life and feel lonely and unhelped.

but make life easier and you probably will accept that the meaning of life lies in that you are asking what is the meaning of life. let life tell you the answer.

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Why do people ask this question? I mean, is it innate in humans to look for deeper meaning - or is it something we're trained to do?

what is the meaning of life?

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