What is the meaning of life?

Question

Just incase you think saying 'live it and find out' is going to be a clever answer well it's NOT. I am living it, and it's great, BUT, and thats a big BUT, if there was a 'meaning' then what do you think it is?

Answer 1

If you'd typed your question in the "Search for questions" panel you'd see that your question has already been asked 3,002 times already, therefore you are unlikely to find any new answers this time. The usual answer by the way is "42" - straight out of "The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy" ! ! !

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

Simple. There is no meaning to life. How can there be?

If mankind became extinct tomorrow, like the dinosaurs or the dodo, what difference would it make? None at all. Why do you think we invented god? So that people would not live their existence recklessly in the knowledge that they only had a relatively short time in which to enjoy themselves. That's also why we put values on everything.

We make our short lives seem more purposeful than they really are by filling them with material things that serve no real function in our survival but they make us feel better about life all the same.

Answer 4

Do i believe that i am here for a purpose?

The truth is I'm not sure... what is the meaning of life? Is it worth time trying to find out?

Most of us are just living our lives but we are not really trying to find out what is it that we are living for. It all seems enjoyable when you have a fulfilled life but we do suffer now and then.

Life means different things to different people. Because we have different aspirations and goals to achieve.

It's almost like we are programmed to do different tasks in this world. Almost as we are biological robots upgrading ourselves by learning more and more about life each day. And the one thing none of us still haven't figured is that-
why are we here?
Why are we living?
What is the meaning of life?

Are we all put on earth for the same reason?
It leads me to so many other questions about life that I realized I still have a lot to learn about life.
So i am not sure I'm qualified to state the definition of life but...to me life is meaningful, and worthwhile when you are healthy and get to spend it with your loved ones.

Answer 5

Think about the question itself to find the problem with the answer. Asking what the meaning of life is a subtle preconception that we apply the idea of meaning to the workings of life. As man has believed that the Earth was the center of the universe at one time, we also believe that life has definable characteristics that are comprehendable for us. It is only human to believe that everything must have a meaning, but does life fit into our classification? We are simply personifying life. It has no reasons, no ulterior motive, it simply is, as is everything. Any attempt to attach a meaning to it will end in failure for we cannot make human what is ineffible.

Answer 6

I did not know whether you question "meaning of life" is only confine to "material desire", but thank to you for asking a "perfect question".

If we are living peacefully now, then it was the good work left by our successor. One should not think like a typical end user, where concern about his comfort living and oil price alone.

To answer in deep conscience, meaning of life is a very broad term, just imagine the purpose of our existence..."the power to Love and Care all-beings and Nature, with the capacity to keep the world Peace".

Answer 7

The Talmud teaches:
Just before a baby is born,
an angel shows it everything there is to know
and learn
on Earth.
Then at the moment of birth,
the angel touches the infant’s upper lip,
and the child forgets everything.
We spend the rest of our lives
remembering
what the angel showed us.
This is a generic guide
to the meaning of life.
It does not describe one view
of the meaning of life
and recommend you adopt it.
It helps you remember
what the angel showed you.
The angel showed you
the meaning of life.
In case you have not remembered yet,
here is what the angel showed you.

Just exactly as if you are landing a spaceship
from another galaxy,
your soul enters your body
and lands here on Earth.
Perhaps you come from out of nowhere,
out of nothingness.
Or else you had a previous existence somewhere,
in another realm
or in this realm,
and you have forgotten it.
Perhaps you land here
of your own free choice.
Or some cosmic force
some karma
beyond you
causes you to land on this planet;
and you have no choice.
No matter.
This is Earth.
You land
and stay for a while.

You come here to do certain
specific
things.
You may have one task
or many.
Your tasks may be obvious to you.
or you may need time,
effort,
maybe struggle
even to clarify
your tasks.
You may never quite even clarify your task
until the moment
your time in this body
ends.
You may work on your task for years
before you realize,
“This is my task.”
The tasks you came to perform
may take the whole of your life
or be done in an instant.
You may be aware
you are performing your life task
while you do it.
You may perform your task quickly,
hardly noticing
anything special,
unaware
you are doing the task
you came to do
while you do it.
Your task may be so easy,
obvious and
natural,
you never even wonder,
"What is my task?"
Your unique blend
of talents and interests
may lead you
to your task
and you just do it.
Or, your task may be a constant,
unpleasant
struggle
you fight
every step of the way.
Your task may be noble and wonderful
and gain you
recognition,
rewards
and honors.
Or, it may be simple,
totally unnoticeable
by anyone else.


You will be born
with a powerful
innate desire
to remain alive.
You will do almost anything
to continue living.
At some point
you may discover
some limits,
and allow your life
to end.

Answer 8

If you'd really like to know then read some of my book. It's my only blog on my yahoo 360 profile. You can even go to the highlighted "The Meaning of Life" chapter. Make sure you check out "The Meaning Of Death" though as well.

Answer 9

Life. What is the Meaning of Life? Life....Life....Life. People have so many opinions on this. But here is mine:

Life is not just breathing and spending your days. It is not waiting for death. Life is not about regret.
Life is about living. And when I say living I do not mean just breathing and walking and talking. I mean living.


I mean yelling across a mountain top just to hear words echo back to you.
I mean spreading your arms, getting bare feet, and dancing in the rain.
I mean sitting at a horizon and watching a sunset and letting all your days worries just dive away with that sun.
I mean singing at the top of your lungs without worrying if you sound good or bad.
I mean just running at full speed just 'cause.
I mean giving a destitute even a penny just to see a smile on their face.
I mean putting a big inspirational grin from your heart on your face even through moments of depression.
I mean putting a smile on those faces that are filled with sadness or wet with tears.

So, my friend, what is life? Life is simply living. But living for this world. There is so much sadness, melancholy, hate, sorrow, pain, and agony in this world. It wouldn't hurt to just get up in the morning and put a smile on your face. And think....that today...today...I'll live for this world. Today I'll dance in the rain just 'cause. Today I'll sing in a crowd just 'cause. Today I'll say hello to everyone I see just 'cause. Just 'cause there is enough sadness in this world...and maybe, just maybe, if I can put a smile on my face and cheer someone else up...AKA live for this world....maybe, just maybe, There will be some...a little bit of less sadness and melancholy in this world. Maybe...Just Maybe.

There you go, that's my opinion. Life is living for this world and without a reason. Just living for this world....just 'cause. Just cause you want to lessen that sadness that weighs this world down.

Answer 10

Meaning.