What is the meaning of life?

Question

Be serious about this OK. I'm sick of people posting random and stupid stuff as answers just so they can get points...like it means something. Yahoo answers is not about getting points...it's about exchanging helpful dialogue and broadening your mind. So please...be serious...and be as detailed as you can. What is the meaning of life?

Answer 1

Life – it has a meaning and loving purpose - you just have to find your purpose and live it.

I believe every person is here for a definite purpose. Each person is special and valuable; that refers to me, you, your family, friends, in fact everybody! There is a loving plan for each of our lives here on earth and there is no such thing as coincidence. I don't believe that anything in life happens by chance and that every aspect of our lives points to something deeper.

You need to decide now to live for God rather than for yourself. You spend your life on Earth preparing yourself (as best you can) for death. I don't see death as a scary, negative experience, but birth into a bliss filled eternal life with God. I believe that this is something you have to consciously choose or not during your life on earth.

The meaning of life is for us to discover that we are true children of an infinitely loving God, to find out what our responsibilities are to our Creator, and to fulfill those responsibilities. Each of us is called to affirm, accept and develop the talents God has given us. -

Answer 2

80% of humanity, the religious folks, don't need to ask the meaning of life, the church tells them....the supernatural explanation. But the rest of us can't swallow religious dogma, because there's no evidence. Nobody can prove that there life after death, that people are tortured or rewarded after life or that there's invisible spirits running around.

I've come to two conclusions recently:

1. Life has no meaning
2. Life has a million meanings.

First, there's a certainty that death and annihilation awaits not only you, but the Earth in general. It's an astonomical certainty that our sun will supernova and leave the earth a burnt crisp, not to mention all the other extinction level events around the corner.

Second, the million things that give us meaning are the pleasurable experiences we can conjure up during the short period we are here on the earth, in the form of the relationships we have with our kids and other people, and the 'housekeeping' types of purposes. What i mean by that are the curing disease, ending hunger, improving literacy, reducing crime, preventing war, helping other kinds of things.

So the bottom line is, we only have a temporary meaning to life, to reduce pain and increase pleasure, other than that everything is lost to oblivion.


To be or not to be? "To be" is temporary and "not to be" is inevitable.....

Answer 3

I've been asking the exact same question lately. The thought popped into my mind that the only reason we are here is to benefit other people. Think about it, why do we have jobs that pay money? why can't everything just be free and everyone is everyone's friend? because people wouldn't do anything then, and money is the motivation that drives people. A system had to be created to make people work for things.. and it sucks. So basically, what we do is we're born, we grow up to learn things in order to "better" everyone's lives, we get money, buy stuff, and die. It's more like a fantasy world/hell or whatever you'd like to call it. I forgot to throw in there reproduce. We live to reproduce technically. but in the long run, not so much, there's a lot more added fluff to things.

Answer 4

I have come to believe that the meaning of life for me is to put an effort into making my life have meaning. To live consciously, to be aware of what I do and the impact it has on others. To be responsible for my individual actions and to own them - good or bad. To bring as much good and light into a world that has enough darkness, to do no intended harm, to bring joy into the world by smiling at someone and seeing them smile back, to create beauty by planting a flower where there was nothing before, to give or share love and see it reflected back in a loved ones eyes - those things have meaning to me. To hold an animal or child in my arms and feel the trust they have in me, to share a connection with someone who nods in understanding even if only for a moment, to notice a tree in full leave, the sun as it sets, a cloud in the sky; to understand there is more here than me and to appreciate all that is and was here before me and that I am not alone. To understand there is a circle of life and to appreciate that I am part of it and that others will continue it after I am gone. To know that nothing in this world is permanent including me and that whatever I leave on this earth after I'm gone whether it be something I created, something I loved, something I appreciated or something that has only a loving memory left of me.... if it meant something to me or to others ...then my life had meaning.

Given a choice, would you rather contribute than not, rather be part of the solution than part of the problem, rather help than hurt, rather be kind than mean, rather smile than frown? I've found that when there is darkness, if you show up with candles, someone else will usually be there with a match to help you light the way. None of us have to go it alone - we're all connected.

Answer 5

OK. Here your are, and I'm being serious:

Life is a form of matter which is comprised of self-replicating molecules.

If you wish to attach religious or philosophical meaning to it, go ahead. The chances that any matter at all exists in the universe and that you could be created in such a way as to perceive it, would suggest that cognizant beings, such as us, would automatically be forced to create religion, science, art and philosophy so that we could try to understand it.

God Almighty, I just love these Nietzsche questions! Go for more!

Answer 6

There is no meaning to life. This is an oddity of our species to attempt to attach some meaning to our existence. Life is a biological process that begins with two grown members of a species engaging in procreative sex. If you need there to be more meaning than this you might construct it for yourself.

Such questions come from the human ego and pride which is difficult to content with on any given day. Our lives have no more meaning than any other creature that has, lives or will live on this planet.

We are part of biological process of reproduction. We come into existence and are born and then we die.

Answer 7

Wow...I have been wondering about this very question for longer than I care to admit. I am still searching for the answer to this. And what is my purpose on earth supposed to be about?
Without going into personal details about myself I have questioned the meaning of my life and the purpose of my very existance. But at least I'm still searching.

Answer 8

this life sucks. There is no meaning. We all run around in circles, living our miserable, pitiful lives until we die. Sure there be happy moments but can they compare to the painful ones. Some people may think theyre happy but life is not perfect and never will be. You can lose anything on this earth in a moment. death is all around us. Our whole lives we pursue some type of meaning or fulfillment, thinking one day if i do this or get this, go alittle farther youll be happy, but its always out of reach and in the end lookin back it was all worthless. everything is vain. Sorry to be so negative but if everyone were really honest with themselves they would agree.

Answer 9

42...

Couldn't help it.

Part of the meaning of life is that we know it ends.

So you have [holding hands a foot apart] this much time to figure out who you are and what you are going to do.

You have to learn to be what you are, and simultaneously become more than you are. Belong to a group. Learn to see the world through someone else's eyes.

Find yourself and find your place.

Which is why no one can *tell* you the meaning of life.

The point is to find your own.

Answer 10

it would depend on the phylosophy that you studied, there are philosophies that state that the idea for a meaning of life is nothing more than a falacy in our species, however through personal experience I have found that it is a test to find those who are worthy to live on to the next life and behold the riches that are held within