One of the questions that’s plagued mankind since the dawn of consciousness is the meaning behind our existence. What is the purpose of it all? Why are we here?
It’s not an easy answer to unpack and in fact, there really isn’t one. There’s a lot of philosophical conversations surrounding this, but I believe that there isn’t one specific meaning. It’s something in which we must carve out for ourselves. There’s a beauty about finding meaning and that is that no two meanings are the same. There may be similarities and alignments, but no two are identical. It’s almost artistic in a way.
To search for meaning is scary. Finding meaning breeds adventure, it spirits curiosity and it embarks risk. The risk in this endeavour is lost time in the pursuit of activities which would not have contributed to one’s fulfilment, but I ask you; without this search, how can one ever even aspire to find ones self?
By understanding that black implies white, self implies other and that life implies death, can you begin to realise that the fabric and structure of existence itself is in duality. To imply finding meaning, we must acknowledge being lost. This is the risk that coincides with time, being lost and wasting time in the pursuit of meaning.
Being lost can be also be a scary thing, without some meaning or purpose, life wouldn’t feel like living, it would be existing in a current state. But to remember the duality that being lost implies that being found exists and that it is in fact possible to attain this.
The question then transforms from asking what the meaning of life is to what is one’s meaning and how can one find this meaning?
There is also not one specific answer to this. A possible solution is to experiment with multiple things until you find something that sticks, but I find that that itself can be potentially frivolous. There is an alternative possible solution.
Think back to childhood, the period of life when there was no burden of circumstance, no bounds of responsibility. The period of life where the primary objective was to find pleasure in any way possible.
Think back to what that person was drawn to, were they interested in computers? Did they pick up a pencil and draw? Maybe they were passionate about something unconventional. That’s the starting point. That’s where the journey can begin from. It doesn’t mean that this is the avenue that will be at the end, but it at least begins the journey of experimentation in meaning’s pursuit.
I think one of the beauty’s of childhood is that when we are boundless, we are drawn to whatever our environment selects for us. Often times, it’s the things that we are drawn to as children that help form meaning as adults. This is not always a good thing, if the environment was not one of nurture but one of torture but in those circumstances, it’s important to remember that those were uncontrolled and if there was not the opportunity for the environment to select something for us, we can make the decision ourselves with what currently interests us.
On the pursuit of adventure, it is inevitable that one would find themselves in the face of adversity resulting in uncertainty. A reflective frame for this would be to understand that uncertainty, while scary, brings adventure, the zest of life. Without uncertainty, there would be no excitement, there would be no story.
Sure, life would be easier if we had all the answers, but we don’t and we probably never will. We can only hope to try to seek love, fulfilment and to try and leave the world in a better place than when we found it in the noble pursuit of finding ourselves.
Let us remember our being on this tiny pale blue dot is finite. We must remember that one day, everything will fade away into the abyss. One day, we will fade, never to return. Pursue what excites you, what excited the 5 year old version of yourself and remember, it’s ok to stumble along the way, but the greatest stumble of all, is never trying.