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

Create a meaning. It makes life better if you do.

Answer 3

We have all asked that question at one time or another.
Sad thing is we always ask it in the wrong manner.
What is life without meaning would be more correct, or so ti would seem to me.

Answer 4

one minute. I am sorry that I took so long. Every body's purpose is different but we all have the same meaning and that is to learn everything that we can in a little bit of time. We all have to learn to love and be loved, and there are people that need help and people that help people we have to find out which one we are. I hope that I have helped you.

Answer 5

life means to serve the Lord your God. He is the only one who gives life.

Answer 6

a little wave's bobbing along in the ocean, having a grand old time. he’s enjoying the wind and the fresh air – until he notices the other waves in front of him, crashing against the shore.

‘my god, this is terrible,’ the wave says. ‘look what’s going to happen to me!’

then along comes another wave. it sees the first wave looking grim, and it says to him, ‘why do you look so sad?’

the first wave says, ‘you don’t understand! we’re all going to crash! all of us waves are going to be nothing! isn’t it terrible?’

the second wave says, ‘no you don’t understand. you’re not a wave, you’re part of the ocean.’

also read:
1) tuesdays with morrie by mitch albom
2) the alchemist by paulo coelho
3) the little prince by antoine st exupery
4) also read parts of the bible like ephesians, corinthians etc.

or:
wake up before the sun rises, and listen. listen as the world turns, and bask in the light that slowly fills your room...

Answer 7

42 according to Deep Think in the Hitch Hikers guide to the Galaxy.

Answer 8

in my opinion, the meaning of life is finding your true self

Answer 9

Do you think turtles and elephants ask this question.
Have you ever considered that life has no meaning other than to be.

Answer 10

I don't know all of the details, but I believe it has something to do with turnips.

Or so I've heard.

Boiling them helps (although it does tend to smell a bit).

Answer 11

Only you can answer that question. It has a different meaning to everyone.