what is the meaning of life?

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

First off, the meaning of life is too abstact to have a clear cut answer, as everyone's life is different and everybody may have different views on what the meaning of life is. So my answer is as follows, the true meaning of life is to find out what you think the meaning of life is for yourself and not anyone else's opinion. Lots of people will say that the meaning of life is sex, money, hoes........etc. Those people are dumb. What do you think the meaning of life is.

Answer 3

I think purpose and meaning are two different things. I think the purpose is to become perfect and harmless. I think it has no meaning at all, because if we did not know we did not exist, we would not care. Definition of life: something or someone that is alive, as in conscious, or existent

Answer 4

To always be on the hunt, and never get caught!
To always question why, but never look for why!
To always wonder how, and be amaze when it happen, and yet never want to really know how.
The meaning of life. To always be on the search, and never want to find anything, because if we do! then what is next. nothing! and then what!

Life is to keep going and going and going just like Duracell batteries, because if you stop, and so does it.

Answer 5

42

Answer 6

The meaning of life is a shared question in psychology as well as religion. I have to assume with your question, you are talking about yourself as a person rather than the life of a plant, fish, animal, etc. Life in all those things are for me (as a human) to enjoy & ...well control is not the best word, but one that comes to my mind now. The meaning in my life (as in all humans) is to have a relationship. I believe we are to have a relationship with God. We are to love Him, worship & praise Him, as well as obey, & serve Him. I think our relationship with God or lack of also has a great influence in our relationship with others. I agree with the one who answered our purpose is different than meaning, though they intertwine. My purpose in life, is probably not the same as yours. We all have differnt talents. Sometimes figuring them out is a little difficult but can be reqarding if we figure it out.

Answer 7

This question has been asked in here a hundred times!!!! Why do YOU want to know what we think? It is whatever it is to you.... for each of us it is our own existance and happiness. Not going through the misery the news shows others are going through....Being thankful for the good things that come your way. And appreciating the little things........hows that?

Answer 8

The meaning of life is to learn as much as you can to contribute to humanity's common consciousness. The more we learn, the more we evolve, and the more we evolve, the better we become as a species.

Answer 9

i think the meaning of life is to love others and change someone else's life for the better. i love to inspire people and motivate them to do better, higher things.

Answer 10

To enjoy it while it lasts! Make your own meaning... if you hate your life and waste it then you aren't doing your job.

Answer 11

Go get the movie and have a good laugh with Monty Python.