I've been thinking a lot recently about meaning in life. I don't think there is 'a meaning,' or perhaps there is, but because of the nuances of our interpretational schemas it would be impossible to identify it specifically and delineate a method of approaching it that everyone could follow. You can, as some have done, try to classify archetypal groups of approaches, and this can be helpful in giving individuals ideas, but i think ultimately we each, if we truly desire authentic meaning, have to forge our own path.
As we make choices in our lives about what to pursue, we have a natural tendency to surround ourselves with that which we want to become; objects, trends, attitudes, jargon, even the people we spend time with, who we identify as our friends. This, of course, makes sense, but it seems like many people do this unconsciously, and often to their own detriment. We buy things when we think we will always want them; we form opinions (and in the process create subconscious stereotypes that ultimately limit our thinking in various ways) when we are at places in our lives that may be drastically different from where we will be in the future; we pick friends who more often than not like us for, or perhaps only know us as, the roles we play, not who we truly are.
A problem arises later when we have some sort of personal revelation and decided we want to change the course of our lives. We discover that all of our money is tied up in things that will not support the new path, our old opinions are making it difficult to commit to the new path, and all of our friends are strangely absent as the new person we've become confuses them, scares them, or just doesn't interest them. Does one make the choice to push on, giving up everything they have know and grown accustomed to, or does he shrink back in the face of fear of the uncertainty of what lays before him, into the small but comfortable cage he has occupied for so many years? Certainly there are those who push on, but how many more give up?
This enforces for me the idea of, as Thoreau put it, "living life deliberately." In order to derive as much as we can from our chosen paths, it is necessary to commit to them as fully as possible, but we do well to also try to remain objective, that is to say being mindful of the existence and validity of other paths, so that should the time ever come when we wish to make such a transition it is not such a task, or worse, we choose not to take it at all and instead continue down the path that we ominously feel can only lead to a personal dead end. We must live life deliberately, not passively float along with the currents of contemporary culture or those in proximity to us for no apparent reason. No doubt this an immense task, infinitely easier said than done. Others have been criticized, ostracized, even executed for doing just that. But what is the meaning of your life if you are living it for someone else's reasons?
As we make choices in our lives about what to pursue, we have a natural tendency to surround ourselves with that which we want to become; objects, trends, attitudes, jargon, even the people we spend time with, who we identify as our friends. This, of course, makes sense, but it seems like many people do this unconsciously, and often to their own detriment. We buy things when we think we will always want them; we form opinions (and in the process create subconscious stereotypes that ultimately limit our thinking in various ways) when we are at places in our lives that may be drastically different from where we will be in the future; we pick friends who more often than not like us for, or perhaps only know us as, the roles we play, not who we truly are.
A problem arises later when we have some sort of personal revelation and decided we want to change the course of our lives. We discover that all of our money is tied up in things that will not support the new path, our old opinions are making it difficult to commit to the new path, and all of our friends are strangely absent as the new person we've become confuses them, scares them, or just doesn't interest them. Does one make the choice to push on, giving up everything they have know and grown accustomed to, or does he shrink back in the face of fear of the uncertainty of what lays before him, into the small but comfortable cage he has occupied for so many years? Certainly there are those who push on, but how many more give up?
This enforces for me the idea of, as Thoreau put it, "living life deliberately." In order to derive as much as we can from our chosen paths, it is necessary to commit to them as fully as possible, but we do well to also try to remain objective, that is to say being mindful of the existence and validity of other paths, so that should the time ever come when we wish to make such a transition it is not such a task, or worse, we choose not to take it at all and instead continue down the path that we ominously feel can only lead to a personal dead end. We must live life deliberately, not passively float along with the currents of contemporary culture or those in proximity to us for no apparent reason. No doubt this an immense task, infinitely easier said than done. Others have been criticized, ostracized, even executed for doing just that. But what is the meaning of your life if you are living it for someone else's reasons?
adore:
yakima, don't ask. 