Whats the meaning of life??

Question

I know its VERY cliche and everyone asks it here so save your chidish comments ( post the funny ones)!!!! but i would like to know what the meaning of life is to you!!!!!

Answer 1

To me: Life is for living for today and not tomorrow (or even yesterday). Life means family and friends and realising their importance. Life means thinking of yourself as well as others.

Answer 2

Meaning of life is the most difficult to find. Perhaps it is the biggest question that can come to a matured mind but with the absence of answers. No religious document will answer it satisfactorily because religions themselves are created by humans and humans are not ultimate. I bet that you will not be able to find the meaning of true life. Because even if you come to know the real meaning, you yourself may not believe or will have a contradictory opinion on it. Life always gets you to pursue its meaning until you dismantle from this world. That's its beauty. Happiness or sadness, ups or downs, zenith or nadir, try to complete and prove that you live until your last day. Be friendly to everyone, be kind, be honest, do good: These are the most widely accepted things which are essential for a complete life. Just live it.

Answer 3

When people ask/answer this we often confuse ourselves with trying identify the 'purpose' as in; it's about reproduction or it's to help others, or it's to enjoy yourself to the fullest etc.
People look for a reason for their existence as simply being here by accident and not having a wider 'purpose' seems pointless.

So we translate the meaning of 'meaning' as a purpose.

As someone who believes in God you could say i believe in a 'higher' purpose, but let's just suppose for a moment there was no purpose.
That life had no meaning it wasn't created deliberately or accidently to serve any purpose or for any reason.

Why would our particular organism have 'evolved' or developed so effectively in relation to our surroundings?

Not to survive, the human race could sustain itself as an existence at a much lower level of development than we have today.

We are unable to identify the meaning so we search for one.
In space, in God, in love, war, drugs, alcohol, sport, the Oceans and so on, we are unable to accept the concept that we have no 'purpose' and so we create 'meaning'

This may be a survival mechanism as without 'direction' 'meaning' and therefore 'purpose' we would go insane due to the complexity of the organism we have become and completely destroy ourselves.

Perhaps the only thing stopping a final conflict is this thought that we must be here for a reason and if we destroy ourselves we wont be able to find out what it is.

It is our insatiable curiousity that keeps us moving forward half hoping there is a 'purpose' and thgerfore a meaning and half dreading that we might find out what it is and be eternally disappionted.

This is where Christians have an advantage over athiests because their purpose is to make the world a better place and suitable for the return of God/Jesus. If we fail in our mortal life time we are blessed with the chance to work through our spirt after death. An interesting example for us in the UK might be William Wilberforce, long after his death we still see the spirit of his ideals at work amongst us.

The best example of all of course is therefore Jesus.

If you want/need a meaning then using your position of priviledge to help those less fortunate than yourself is a very good place to start, personally I still remain a beginner in this area.

Answer 4

This is almost what it is – a most commonly asked question, the one that is almost becoming a cliché, the one that we ask first when we start asking, and the one that makes us all realise soon that there is more to be asked within. The question that in your case you have made worth answering just by say what does it mean to you. I would not have bothered to answer this question anymore if it were not for the details you appended to the question.

Yes, the responses can be childish, and they can be anything ranging form being intelligent and witty to downright ridiculous, some of them can be realistic and honestly personal and insightful. I have seen most people try to convey message of hope and inspiration when asked what they think life means to them, whereas others think life is the name of a serious purpose. They all are right. As the meaningfulness of our life depends upon what meanings we choose for our life, the way we relate to things in life. Just the way you have made this question a personal question by pronouncing what it means to you, life also requires to be pronounced in the way we choose to live it.

In this, and many regards life is like a blank sheet of paper that we choose to write whatever we choose to write upon; we make errors and then corrections. We like our life to be just like this virtual page of word processor where I, for example, can correct my spelling errors without leaving a trace of where things went wrong. But real life, I read long time ago somewhere, is like sketch book where we do not have a facility of the use of an eraser or a rubber, and the sketches once drawn always stay there, the sketches that we like to draw and then redraw time and time again in ever so more better versions.

What does my life mean to me, it means this and many more things, the answer, therefore, does not end here, as it never will, for this is what life is, an endless exploration into things that we sometimes think we already know very well. If we keep asking the same question for as many times as we like, and never stop knowing what this question mean to us; when we are able to tell people what do we mean by what we ask then they will be able to tell us what they mean by what they say in response.

Answer 5

Death is for certain meaning of life, because with life there is no death and opposite way, but while still living it can't be discussed, I at least once in a week think about it. I think that true meaning is "be prepared for death", so it's somehow true to "enjoy in every day". Do what you can while you're alive either it good or bad, either it scares you or make you happy. And never be alone, you always have friends, not only friends, you have also enemies and you have those people you don't know, all of them, even enemies, are better than stand alone. Enjoy in life !

Answer 6

To learn, to better myself and to pass knowledge onto the next generation. Really intelligent people are imortalised so as long as the human race survives so do the intelligent people.

I think everyone has a purpose who or what that is I don't know but life sure can be interesting.

Don't worry about the sun dying though - we'll be long gone before then probably through a nuclear war or something

Answer 7

Wow. what a question....
Frankly, I dont know if anyone can really answer this question as the answer isn't a fact.
Every person, every religeon and every thing sees life in one way or another but we don't all necciserily have to agree on how we define it.
To me life is a phase between being born and dying. Everyone can choose his/her own meaning.
Flowers have a life.
Animals have a life.
Humans have a life.
Even clouds and rain have life.
Life is a phase between being born and dying.

Answer 8

Strange how almost all the answers assume you mean human life . Life as a state of being alive and continuing that cycle of existence sort of gives the answer to the question . As sentient beings like ourselves can ask the question you pose then perhaps the meaning of life is to question and learn . Or it could be an even number between 41 and 43 , nah !

Answer 9

It varys from time to time. Just like life!
Usually at first trying to get stuff that will make life a cake walk. Once that changes it can be a life time of on going prosperity. Or a harsh dead end that will consist of focusing on ones own existence (hopefully positively) lest one is stubborn in believing that life is based on ones own time clock and plan!
If only we could be able to interview Anna Nicole and others today. I am sure their meanings of life would be the opposite and more carefully considered and sincere. And that's my observation at this time.

Answer 10

42

Answer 11

To survive and to know as much as you can about the nature of the universe.

As the late great popular cosmologist Carl Sagan said:-

"we are the local embodiment of a cosmos grown to self awareness. We have begun to contemplate our origins: starstuff pondering the stars; organized assemblages of ten billion billion billion atoms considering the evolution of atoms; tracing the long journey by which, here at least, consciousness arose. Our loyalties are to the species and the planet. We speak for Earth. Our obligation to survive is owed not just to ourselves, but also to that cosmos, ancient and vast, from which we spring."