What is the meaning of life you may ask? This is a question that many of us ponder upon from time to time. To those who believe in a faith, they may see life as a stepping stone and a lesson to take with you when you pass on to the afterlife. Others may say it’s to enjoy it the best you can and make it count. However, not everyone holds these views. Not everyone believes in the afterlife, thus leading to asking one’s self the point of anything. Not everyone can take the best of life because not all of us have it well compared to others. Why is that when we live in a hellish world like ours, living still manages to matter when nothing else seems to? Living matters because life holds within a deeper meaning and an essential purpose for all of us.
The deep meaning held by life is something various people struggle to find because they are looking for a generally accepted answer that may never really resonate with us. The truth is, the meaning of life isn’t there because there is none. As Joseph Campbell says, “Life is without meaning. You bring the meaning to it.” Campbell is essentially saying that life is anything you want it to be. There is no definitive answer for a single person. You have control over what happens whether you realize it or not. If you are in a dark place in your life, you can either choose to face and overcome it, or just quit.
While the meaning of life is not to be defined by any one man, our purpose however is to spread our ideals of life in order to evolve as a race. We all contribute in our own way no matter how small. We serve up our failures in order to teach a new generation so that they may progress. This prospect falls under both ends of the spectrum, good and bad. The well intentioned will learn to bring mankind closer to each other, while the ill mannered will choose to bring mankind towards its destruction. Either way, both sides learn from their elders, and they will continue to pave a way for both ends.
If you believe nothing matters in the end, then you have to understand that everything by that point is an illusion. This illusion is the balance in our reality and what creates our freedom. This is why sometimes it's hard to distinguish right and wrong, good and evil, because it technically does not exist. We all have our own ideas and this is what makes us truly unique as a species. The fact that we can have these thoughts is astounding. This is why life is wonderful and it's our goal as a race to spread our different ideas to create and continue our society.
Life is a beautiful thing because it's a finite thing with an infinite amount possibilities. It allows us to do whatever we want. With this freedom, we use it to live, learn, fail, teach, and eventually, pass away. It can be filled with challenges along the way with obstacles that make living seem pointless and dreams feel unreachable, but every decision we make will pay off in the end for us and/or the world, no matter how miniscule. These reasons make life worth preserving.
Sources/References:
http://paulocoelhoblog.com/2010/10/16/character-of-the-week-joseph-campbell/
Nice including a large mass of people who aren't religious. A+ for that one. A really good example of the nothingness that is life is the monologue from Macbeth, when Macbeth has been informed that Lady Mac has commited suicide. He is so placid on the topic, and the most iconic line of that monologue is "..full of sound, and fury. Signifying nothing." It's really just a perplexing topic, but well done.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the tonal shift at the end to a resolved content feeling, it really helps bring the whole piece together. This piece was interesting because I had never thought of life as meaningless until you make it meaningful which is very true. We decide what we bring into our life and what we push out and ultimately those are the factors that determine what the "meaning" of your life is. Thank you for bring a new perspective to the table. -Erika Smith
ReplyDeleteI really liked the quote you included in your piece by Joseph Campbell. I think life itself has different value to every individual. You expressed that life is what you make of it and I couldn't agree more. Good job.
ReplyDeleteI loved this topic. It is such a common topic that has endless answers and it was nice to hear yours. You did a very good job at including possible answers from a wide range of people, including those who are not religious. It was cool to hear about different perspectives.
ReplyDeleteThe meaning of life is such a complex idea and I don't think I could ever answer the ancient question as well as you did. I used to think that the meaning of life was the same for every person and that there was an exact answer. However, after reading your piece, I realize that we all have different perspectives and dreams which, as a result, makes each of our meanings in life different. I think what makes the question of what is the meaning of life so hard to answer, is that we don't share the same priorities and goals. Instead of trying to find one exact answer that is true for everyone, we need to find one that is true for us individually.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your concluding paragraph it was precise and expressed a reasonable explanation human life span and that which we should try to accomplish within it. I thought it was smart how you neglected to take a side on the after death topic that is heavily debated and stuck primarily on things like being a good/bad person and what that means and felt as though you didn't take a clear side which was perfect for this form of writing.
ReplyDeleteI really loved your abstract idea!
ReplyDeleteI am in a place right now where I need to more so find my Purpose" in life. With Career fair not for away I've done a reflection on where I am and how I've gotten here and I've seen something interesting. Not that I was doubting, but your claims are very accurate. Not only does this help people understand who don't believe in religion, (Thanks Zeke), But this also greatly opens doors that many people, including me, thought were closed.
Thank you for the enlightenment,
-Deacon Ortiz
This is a really intriguing piece. I like how you incorporated contrasting viewpoints throughout, whether it be the religious vs atheist view on the afterlife or the optimistic vs bleak perspective of what life is and means. Thanks for the read!
ReplyDelete-Megan Woodall
Victoria Ervin
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this piece. It is a very interesting and unique topic that you chose to write about and it had me completely captivated. I really liked the message in this piece as well: that in the end, life is what you make of it.
I heavily resonate with this piece, it was beautifully done and perfectly projects the many reasons on why we should live life to it's fullest potential and why we should live how we want
ReplyDeleteEthan Lazo
Well written! I completely agree with your blog, we are all put on this earth for a reason, therefore we must fall in love with being alive.The possibilities are endless, we must not only live life to to the fullest, but the main goal is to simply survive despite any downfalls that may face us- I learned a lot from your blog and it was also very meaningful to me.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very well written piece I agree fully on your prospective on this topic. This was clearly thought out well enough to make this so much more interesting. I will definitely think about this when I need some words on encouragement. -Deztiny Alas
ReplyDeleteI always love reading thought provoking literature such a this piece. The answer to the age old question "What is the meaning of life?" is one that everyone asks at some point or another. I truly enjoyed your input on the subject of "living"
ReplyDelete-Michael Pursley
I loved this piece! It's such a common topic and in reality there isn't only one meaning of life. Everyone has different perspectives and meanings of what life is. Great job! -Leslie Marquez
ReplyDeleteThis piece is very well written. I love how it is put together and I also agree with what you say. Life is wonderful and we should live life to the fullest. - Zoe
ReplyDeleteThis is a well written piece, and I was very impressed. There is so much meaning to life and you explained that very well. A lot of people struggle to find meaning to life and it is very hard for them. This piece could really help those people. I really like your writing!! Good job!!
ReplyDelete-Garret Janikowski (Period 4)
Thank you! It's always nice to be reminded. I feel like in this day and age it's easy to forget why your personal existence is important in a cornucopia of bad tidings. Personally, I tend to find myself fighting for others lives and freedom but have a lack of value to my own. I agree with your piece and find it quite motivating and inspirational! Good job!
ReplyDeleteGreat topic to write about, I enjoyed it because the idea of living is complicated and everyone has their ideas of their own purpose. I also liked the positive outlook on life and its meaning. - Gaby Ortega
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog! I agree with the fact no matter how small our influence is on the world, it matters and allows life to have a purpose. Thank you for your piece, it reminded me that life is worth living even when the darkness takes over. -Belen Delgadillo
ReplyDeleteI really how writing constructed and portrayed. I love how you emphasis that everyone is born with a purpose and they are the controller of their life enabling them to choose their life choices in the times of good and bad scenerios. Additionally I like how you mention that "everyone is unique" in their own way, because being unique makes the world different and thats something to always look forward to. - Alexia
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your use of tone to emphasis your message on why living is important. It is also great that you do not use religion as a reason why people should keep on living. I believe that your message will brighten up someone's perspective on life.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting piece that I truly enjoyed reading. I like how you had a tone shift at the end and how
ReplyDeleteit changed the feeling.
I really loved this this. This is such a complex idea that hasn’t only one answer, but you showed your unique and argumentative opinion. Especially you possible answers from a different points of view of people, as well as people who don’t have a religion. Thank you for examination of a lot of possible perspectives.
ReplyDelete-Avel Fomenko
Very good piece. I totally agree with that quote from Joseph Campbell and I think that people should try to keep those negative emotions, like stress and fear, out of their lives and just focus on what's important. Obviously, we're gonna have these bad emotions, we're only human. When people learn to live in balance between good and bad emotions, that's where you will find peace. - Eddie Segura
ReplyDeleteThis is a very good topic to write about. I feel like this piece holds so much meaning about what life is to us as human beings and how life is what you make it. Great Job !- Chenel Moody
ReplyDeleteYour perspective on the concept of living was extremely enlightening. I also agree with, "life is anything you want it to be" through personal experience and what I have grown up learning. It is cruel that we have such a limited amount of time to exist, but it is our job to make sure that our lives are filled with things that make us happy.
ReplyDeleteI saw this before you turned in the assignment, and I have to say your insight on life is well written. I know you asked me and everyone else in our group about our opinion on life, so I appreciate you putting good effort into this. This kind of topic is not only for you to evaluate, but for everyone to evaluate. Because you asked others what life was, you were able to see different perspectives and express it into a stupendous piece. Awesome job with this Julien!
ReplyDeleteThe ending of this piece was the perfect way to wrap it up.The whole write up must have been very difficult to do, but you made it your own and really put your views out their in a personal way.
ReplyDelete-rishim
This write up was very positive, and I really like how you made a happy post to give people hope so they know they can overcome anything. I like how you think of life as the "glass is half full" rather than half empty. Great ending!
ReplyDelete- hannah long
This was beautifully explored and written. This is not an easy topic to discuss and ponder about. I like how you talk about how life is anything you want it to be. It is up to us indeed to take life in a positive or negative perspective.
ReplyDeleteWow. This was so beauitfully written. I really like how you exclaimed that one has to find there own meaning in life and there purpose in life. Everyone is in charge of their own destiny. - Alexia Exton
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