December 19, 2005
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Topic: A-ha…the meaning of life!!!
I remember having a deep conversation about life w/ a couple of co-worked when I worked for Outward Bound in S. Africa. When I went to bed, my mind was still racing, and after a big I woke up, sat-up, and paused…my heart racing. I thought I had figured out the answer to our hour long conversation.
My roommates heared me sit up and I actually said, “I got it!!!!” The asked, “What’d you get?” and I said, “I figured out the meaning of life…but I can’t remember what it is…”
Since then, I’ve come to some new conclusions, which will continue to change over time. I rented a Ben Harper DVD this weekend, and despite his music often bordering on political, he said, “I have no desire to change the world…the world will always be changing until the day the world ends.” Sure, we should try to better the world, but to realize there is no objective end, except if the time comes when human beings end up like dinosaurs (I think i need to watch Planet of the Apes again…)
Anyways…so I’ve figured out life is short and meaningless (not to say that there isn’t meaning to be drawn out of life). I believe the mind and human spirit transcend science, but I also believe that we are no different from any other animal, in that all we can do is best fill our days.
And, that’s where the meaning of life lies. How do we best fill our days?
I’ve begun to answer that question, and I feel compelled to further fill my days by sharing what it is I have observed regarding this question.
1) We are best served by viewing life as entertainment. Most of us do this already. We watch movies, read books, play games, travel…basically everything that we do for fun, we do in order to be entertained. The trick, that I believe I’ve discovered and I’m still mulling over and working on putting into practice, is how to make “non-fun things” to be entertaining? How to make academic things entertaining? How to make a subway ride entertaining? How to make the experience of being an office-drone entertaining? How to look at conflict and sadness, and see the entertainment in it.
2) We are best served by filling our days in ways that lead to physical and mental health. When we are healthy physically, we tend to be healthier mentally, and there are many other side-effects, including increased life expectancy. Physical health comes simply from eating well, getting adequate exercise, and avoiding things that are known to be harmful to the human body, or, to do those things in moderation. If risking your physical health through drinking, smoking, or high-risk sports means increasing your mental health, than you need to do a personal cost-benefit type analysis to see if it’s worth the physical risks.
Mental health is tricker, and not always in a person’s control. I’ve discussed this topic before, and don’t want to focus too much on it now.
So…those are my initial thoughts on the meaning of life.
In other news (in the news), it seems some small amount of tone-shifting has occurred in the world. The World Trade Organization meetings in Hong Kong have just about come to a concensus on how to make the global economic system work to help developing countries. This includes developed nations such as those in Europe and the US, ending gov’t subsidies that they give to their own farmers by the year 2013 (I believe was the year). While I have not read about this extensively, this appears to be a sign of governments moving in the general direction of what poor countries need to improve their financial situations, as well as the general direction of what angry protestors have been calling for. Unless I’m missing something major, it appears that those w/ money and power do in fact possess benevolent bones in their body.
And…while I haven’t read the whole speech, Pres. Bush admitted mistakes last night. He made his first tv speach about the war since it began, and apparently made some effort to acknowledge critics. That’s a huge step for this president, who has not been willing or able to make a connection w/ the majority of the world and basically w/ an extremely high number of Americans.
I mean…how hard should it be for one of the most influential people in the world to get on tv and explain things, and to be real about how people feel about his words and decisions??? All we’re asking for is for the man to be a human being, and not just a puppet reciting the same words and phrases every day…at least for starters.
And, at the end of the day, while the Pres. is an important person, he is not the only person in the world…far from it. I do think that too many people look to the gov’t to address social issues, and as history has shown, social issues rarely get decided by the gov’t. The reason we have an 8hr. work day, the reason we have min. wage laws, the reason troops got pulled out of Vietnam, the reason women gained the right to vote, the reason that the environment is even on the national agenda, is the results of everyday people speaking out and doing something.
Is there a problems of poverty in America? Is there a problem w/ welfare, w/ subsidized housing, with attitudes and treatment of the poor? We can discuss all those things…but I’ve recently befriended a man, named Bob, who spends his days on the streets asking for money. And…despite his financial troubles, I no longer see this person as a begger, I see him simply as Bob, a man from N. Carolina, who has a wife Sylvia who sits on a nearby corner, and a dog named Abby. A man who is friendly, who has intelligent thoughts about politics and society, who has worked but lost his job due to health reasons, and who doesn’t look for much from the world. I was impressed to see people had left packages w/ chicken, pasta, all sorts of things. Bob actually lives in Section 8 subsidized housing in the Bronx, but hasn’t been able to collect any kind of social security or welfare, and spends his days on 34th st. trying to scrounge up money to pay his $200 rent. He’s too sick to work, and I’m not quite sure how his numerous doctor bills get paid. I guess the point of this is to realize that beneath the politics and economics of poverty, are regular people, and if we want to help them, we can begin by accepting them as so. (There was a woman on the train who freaked out at a guy asking for money, screaming at him to get off drugs, get a job, and threatening to call the cops because it’s apparently illegal to panhandle on the subways…the problems we face have as much to do w/ our sociology as our politics, but regarding this woman, who knows…maybe she was mugged by a homeless person.)
-dan
Comments (4)
the meaning of life is so simple …its right in front of everyones noses which is why so many miss it
Re: Public school and cultural exposure. I just don’t think it happens. Either schools are predominantly one race and income level, or another. There are almost no black children in our middle-class school district. In the cities, schools are often mostly poor and black. And when there is mixture, the races don’t learn to mix. They learn to form cliques and compete, not make friends and get along.
Is bussing the solution? As in the city, where some children spend hours on busses each day, just to make the schools more diverse? I don’t think that works, either.
Homeschooling is mostly a middle-class phenomenon, and families mostly spend time with like families.
I don’t know what the answer is. A community is where people live together, not just work together (and school has become “work” in our culture, as opposed to “living”). We have some very deep societal problems that go beyond schooling, and which our present system of schooling cannot go deep enough to solve.
peace, love and happiness… I know it sounds like a cliche…. but its true. Thats my definition of life. The only problem us… its the situation and the people that cause the world complications for us to realize this simple meaning of what life should stand for.
Bleh… I miss NYC… England isn’t too festive as New York. ct
For one thing, I think that most people in need don’t want “charity.” Deep down, they want to be treated like fellow human beings and to be given a chance at a level playing field. You’ll always have those that feel victimized (some with more reason than others), but most just want a chance to help themselves. I remember a college classmate of mine who didn’t hardly have enough money to pay for gas to get back to her apartment to get food-so I picked up some fruit from the cafeteria. As much as I think she appreciated it, she found it embarassing that she needed that.
And while I agree with you on many things, I don’t agree that life is meaningless. That’s probably my religious convictions showing through, but I believe we’re all here for a purpose. That’s not to say we can’t have a little fun along the way though.
~Bethany