What is the meaning of Life?

Question

Does anyone really know or understand?

Answer 1

"What is the meaning of life?" is a question many people ask themselves at some point during their lives. Some people believe that the meaning of life is one or more of the following:

Survival and temporal success

* ...to accumulate wealth and increase social status
* ...to compete or co-operate with others
* ...to destroy others who harm you, or to practice nonviolence and nonresistance
* ...to die having succeeded in your purpose
* ...to live
* ...to protect one's family
* ...to gain and exercise power
* ...to leave a legacy, such as a work of art or a book
* ...to produce offspring through sexual reproduction or asexual reproduction
* ...to seek freedom, either physically, mentally or financially
* ...to seek happiness and flourish, experience pleasure or celebrate
* ...to survive, including the pursuit of immortality through scientific means (see life extension)

Wisdom and knowledge

* ...to be without question, or to keep asking questions
* ...to explore, to expand beyond our frontiers
* ...to learn from one's own and others' mistakes
* ...to seek truth, knowledge, understanding, or wisdom
* ...to try to discover and understand the meaning of life
* ...to expand one's perception of the world

Ethical

* ...to express compassion
* ...to live in peace with each other, and in harmony with our natural environment (see utopia)
* ...to give and receive love
* ...to seek and acquire virtue, to live a virtuous life
* ...to serve others, or do good deeds
* ...to work for justice and democracy

Religious, spiritual and esoteric

* ...to turn fear into joy at a constant rate achieving on literal and metaphorical levels: immortality, enlightenment and atonement
* ...to achieve a supernatural connection within the natural context
* ...to achieve enlightenment and inner peace
* ...to become God, or God-like
* ...to experience existence from an infinite number of perspectives in order to expand the consciousness of all there is (i.e. God)
* ...to follow the "Golden Rule"
* ...to produce useful structure in the universe over and above consumption (see net creativity)
* ...to reach Heaven in the afterlife
* ...to understand and follow the "Word of God"
* ...to worship, serve, or achieve union with God

Other

* ...to advance natural human evolution, or to contribute to the gene pool of the human race
* ...to advance technological evolution, or to actively develop the future human
* ...to contribute to collective meaning ("we" or "us") without having individual meaning ("I" or "me")
* ...to die, or become a martyr
* ...to find a purpose, a "reason" for living that hopefully raises the quality of one's experience of life, or even life in general
* ...to live, and enjoy the passage of time
* ...to have fun
* ...to protect humanity, or more generally the environment
* ...to pursue a dream, vision, or destiny
* ...to relate, connect, or achieve unity with others
* ...to seek and find beauty
* ...to simply live until one dies (there is no universal or celestial purpose)
* ...to participate in the chain events which has led from the creation of the universe until its possible end (either freely chosen or determined, this is a subject widely debated amongst philosophers)
* ...still some do not even think there is any purpose whatsoever (see nihilism)
* ...(This is actually an extension of the point immediately above) There is no inherent meaning to life, existence, the universe, etc. They exist because they can. However, humans appear to inately give meaning, usually many, often conflicting, to what they are conscious of. So, to each individual, the "meaning of life" is whatever they decide it is. In that sense, every point above is potentially valid.

Answer 2

Perhaps it would be better to be a dog or a cat.
Then we would sit around the house not caring what the meaning to life is.
Animals live there lifes accordingly.
They sleep all day and wake up when they please.
They eat they drink they just live life.
Do they know why? Do they care why?
What makes that pet so importent that it carries on every single day with no meaning to life.
Well first you have to think to yourself maybe there is a meaning or why would my pet be here?
Then you wonder.
If there was no pet before him there would be no pet right now.
If he never had a mother and a father, he would not be here.
So then you think to yourself if i never had partents i would not be here.
Then you realize your meaning in life.
To life and give life.
We as the human race are much more advanced then a pet when it comes to our knowledge that we can obtain.
If you can see clearly you can see if there is no life then there is no earth.
NO children=no humans and no world as we know it.
Thats what i call the reason for life, that one reason to give life.
Purpose and reason are two different things.
Reason is why you are here and purpose is what you will do when you are here.
So why you ask should we keep having children?
Is there a greater purpose?
Why keep having children, i mean why would we in the first place?
If "I" make something, that something has a purpose.
If i have a pipe that is running water that water will evently meet its end.
There is a source to that water just as there is a source to are human race we did not start from nothing neither did we form from nothing.
The chair that i sit in WAS BUILT.
This is not nuts!!!!
NOw to say the chair that i sit in evolved from a pillow that is a little bit nutty.
Now to say that the chair just appeared out of no where is the nuttest ( We have a greater meaning to life then we may ever imagien i believe that to be the reason we are here.
The reason we were made is to be used.
If we were not made then we are not being used we are just living a chanceful and unhopeful destiny of death itself.
If there were no painters and only chance could paint.
Art today would be crap.
So how do you think we have such beautiful things in this world?
Becuase there was an artist.
@Joshua Washburn

Answer 3

I just had to look at your question to see if you had any significant follow up to your question in order to focus on one or another area, because I get totally flabbergasted at someone asking such a global, enormous question on such as Yahoo Answers. To give you any real intelligent answer I'd have to write a response equal in length to the theses I wrote for my post graduate degrees, and that would require more effort than it's worth for me. I just can't understand anyone asking such a question on Yahoo Answers or any similar program. I can say this, however, and that would be that, for the amount of research it would take to do a reasonable and objective job to answer your question, I would recommend you do your own personal research throughout the next 40 to 50 years of your life so that you can add that personal perspective that is required in answering your question. I can't guarantee you'll be satisfied with your answer, but that will give you plenty of time to develop an answer. On the other hand, you can pick up your Christian Bible and study it thoroughly, not objectively but from the perspective of how God is talking with you, personally, and when you get that done, you should have a clear understanding of the meaning of life. Then you can go on and live it. God Bless you.

Answer 4

There can be no final answer to the question of life's meaning. There are many things that make life worth holding on to and savouring. But life is unpredictable and we are often mysteries even to ourselves. We think success, happiness, helping others, or surpassing ourselves will make life worth living, but we can always be wrong or frustrated by events. Philosophers have a lot to say about the value of all these things, and a little less to say about one of the most valuable things of all - love. So we can be clear enough about what it means for life to have meaning and value, but when we put down our philosophy books and actually get on with living, meaning and value can be elusive. Living well is more art than science or philosophy.

Answer 5

The meaning of life deals with the care and nurturing of your soul. Everything you do affects your soul, everything you say, every thought you have, they all affect the soul. The soul is the whole sum product of your life.

So, the proper care and nurturing of your soul involves three things, (1) seeking knowledge, (2) practicing love, and (3) relishing everything in the world that is beautiful. Discover beauty everywhere in in everyone. As you progress in your enlightenment then all these three things become blended. Beauty becomes truth, truth becomes love and love becomes beauty.

That is all you need to know in the world, that is all there is to know. Enjoy the ride.

Answer 6

42

Answer 7

Yes I consider that existence for repeat offenders is well.I imply intent a lot of these murders might had been avoided if the killers might have stayed in prison. I can relate to the sufferers households. My buddy used to be killed in 1997 and they have got no leads.An I realize typically the jury permits them to off however come on if the man or woman killed greater than as soon as you understand hes going to do it once more.

Answer 8

"My advice to you... is to find your gold and sit on it."
-Grendel

That may or may not be a direct quote from John Gardner's Grendel, but it gets at the basic idea. You have to figure out your goals, aim towards them, and enjoy your life and achievements along the way. I recommend the bestseller Tuesdays with Morrie for more about the meaning of life.

Answer 9

Purple Jello

Answer 10

Life is the course of existence of an individual; the actions and events that occur in living, the period during which something is functional (as between birth and death).

Answer 11

Yes, it is to live it. That's the meaning, very simple. Live life. Don't just survive it, live it and listen to your heart. Your heart will let your brain know if it is the right or wrong thing to do and then listen to your heart. It's really that simple.