What is life all about?

[MamaBearTeacher]

What do you think?

[creekland]

Without getting into a religious aspect...

 

I'm for enjoying your journey as best you can and making life better for those around you - then leaving a decent planet for those coming behind.

 

 

[Jen in NY]

I like Creekland's answer a lot. :)

 

For me, life is about remembering to:

 

Relieve suffering in the world. Be amazed and awestruck at my luck to have appeared here - after the untold eons of existence of the universe that it took to get to a place that life existed at all on earth, and then the evolution of man, and then the development of civilizations, and then the generations of my own family that led to my birth - at this time and place. Make the very best of the opportunity to love my family and my fellow man, because it is fleeting. Be grateful for everything to the best of my ability.

 

 

[SemiSweet]

Love

 

Love your family

Love your neighbors

Love the planet

Love the unloveable

[TechWife]

Loving and serving God.

Edited March 25, 2016 by TechWife

[MercyA]

"He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" Micah 6:8

 

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

 

"Jesus said unto him, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.'" Matthew 22:37-39

Edited March 25, 2016 by MercyA

[Mom22ns]

Without getting into a religious aspect...

 

I'm for enjoying your journey as best you can and making life better for those around you - then leaving a decent planet for those coming behind.

 

I like this a lot.

 

But my answer is relationship. I think humans are designed to live in community. Our relationships, with God, family, friends, even pets or the planet are what life is about. By focusing on those relationships I think we achieve Creek's definition. :)

[gardenmom5]

to put it in one sentence -

being the best person you can be by giving love and service to other people.

[Isabella]

It's to enjoy!  To find beauty in nature. To find beauty in everyone. To find beauty in ourself.  (I'm Christian, and I believe God has created all things and made beauty - we should look for it, see it, embrace it, enjoy it….this glorifies Him) Even if you are not Christian, it still brings much joy.

 

Also to be Christ-like.  Again you don't need to be Christian to show love to others, be tolerant, lift another's burden, love yourself, show kindness, be moderate, take God with you throughout every day.

 

Also to be spiritually minded.  Look within, feel the essence of yourself, see the very essence of others (as opposed to their behaviour or personality), spend time with animals and feel their connection with the universe (God).  Look upwards and feel God's spirit.

 

Much of my thoughts of the meaning of life are Christian-based, of course, but I still think they apply to anyone. :-)

[marbel]

I am approaching it from a Christian perspective but this encompasses pretty much all that has been said before.  Well, maybe not Kinsa's, LOL! 

 

From the Westminster Shorter Catechism:

 

What is the chief end of man?

 

Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.

[gardenmom5]

I defer to Mr. Bennet on this matter:

 

"For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn?â€

 

(LOL)

 

to me, that is just too cynical.

[mamiof5]

For me? To know, love and serve God in this life so I can be with Him in the next. That entails loving Him first with my whole souul and heart (the first greatest commandment), and love thy neighbor as yourself (the second one), also living and practicing the beatitudes etc. I find happiness trying to live the way God wants me to, answering His call every day as much as I can in my imperfect human nature.

[fraidycat]

Without getting into a religious aspect...

 

I'm for enjoying your journey as best you can and making life better for those around you - then leaving a decent planet for those coming behind.

I defer to Mr. Bennet on this matter:

 

"For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn?â€

 

(LOL)

:iagree:

[Amy in NH]

Experience of the self in this level of dimensional reality.

[SparklyUnicorn]

suffering and eventual death and decay

 

I'm a pessimist so...

 

But yet I'm seriously laughing at what I just typed.  I can laugh at my ridiculousness.......

 

 

[Rosie_0801]

To self actualise and assist others in the same process (if it can be done without being too obnoxious. :p )

[elegantlion]

Life is about living and loving, being and becoming, holding on and letting go. It's about finding a few people along the way to laugh and cry with about the absurdity of it all. It's about recognizing that each day you get up (literally and metaphorically) counts because YOU matter. It's about finding calm among the chaos. It's about watching a sunset on a beach and thinking "Wow!" and then realizing that someone else on the Earth is watching that same sun rise and saying "Wow!" Life is lived in the moments and you have to watch for them because they pass by quickly and are often messy. 

[maize]

My off the cuff response was "changing diapers" but maybe that's just the phase of life I am in :tongue_smilie:

[Pippen]

Depends on when you ask me.

 

Right now I'll go with "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming."

[Guest]

Surviving until you reproduce; then it's all about the kids surviving and hoping that they reproduce. I don't know what happens after that, but it's not exactly rocket science to make an educated guess.

[Carolinagirl1]

Love. (period). When I am snuggling with the kids under the blankets on a cold morning then I know for certain - THAT is what life is all about! Love!

 

[Stacia]

The hokey pokey (?)... That's what it's all about!

 

:tongue_smilie: ;) :D

 

 

Edited March 26, 2016 by Stacia

[Lady Florida.]

I don't believe there is a meaning to life other than the biological drive to continue the species. That doesn't mean I don't think each person's life has meaning, just that there's not an overall "meaning of life". I believe we each create our own meaning of life and live according to that meaning. It's personal for each and every one of us.

 

I'm an atheist, but not all atheists have the same view regarding meaning of life.

[Lady Florida.]

double post

Edited March 26, 2016 by Lady Florida

[MamaBearTeacher]

Experience of the self in this level of dimensional reality.

Interesting!

[MamaBearTeacher]

The hokey pokey (?)... That's what it's all about!

 

:tongue_smilie: ;) :D

LOL!

[MamaBearTeacher]

I just love all these answers!

[creekland]

I know I got a ton of personal satisfaction/fulfillment listening to youngest son catch us up on the many facets of his life yesterday after picking him up from the airport (home on his spring break).

 

It was nice following our dreams through our younger years (even with mountains and valleys).  It's also nice being the older/wiser mentor watching the younger generation learning about and creating/modifying theirs.  It often gives me hope for our planet.

 

I think a good part of the meaning of life is developing the next generation - not just physically, but in all aspects.  I think that's why it hurts us so much when things go wrong (or even not wrong so to say, but not according to the script we have in our mind).

 

I think that's why I still enjoy working at school.  It's not just my kids I enjoy guiding.  It's the next generation - period.  I feel really good when things go well for them or see the lightbulb of understanding flick on, and not so good (or even horrid) when they don't.

[sewingmama]

My off the cuff response was "changing diapers" but maybe that's just the phase of life I am in :tongue_smilie:

In this vein...I think life is about washing dishes and picking up after everyone.

[Nan in Mass]

Being good. Being kind. Making the world a better place. Admiring beauty. Snuggling your family, both furry and unfurry. : )

 

Nan

[Nan in Mass]

My off the cuff response was "changing diapers" but maybe that's just the phase of life I am in :tongue_smilie:

Yup, lol. That does seem to be a rather large part of it. That and feeding people.

 

Nan

[gardenmom5]

I know I got a ton of personal satisfaction/fulfillment listening to youngest son catch us up on the many facets of his life yesterday after picking him up from the airport (home on his spring break).

 

 

in that same vein - I have really enjoyed watching my children interact with each other.  (I came from such a messed up family - all three of us barely speak to each other. (that really *is* the way we were reared. the sick and twisted mind games adults play that  mess up children.))

now, four of my kids are adults and it brings me much joy they *want* to spend time together.  (and do.)  1ds (college student) lives with 1dd (owns her own house, doesn't want to live alone).  we still see them regularly.

 

last night, I noticed dsil had called me - so I called them back (realizing it was after 10pm their time, but it had only been about 15 minutes.).  the phone was on speaker so I could hear both dsil and dd.  in the background - I kept hearing laughter that sounded like my son . . . they were skyping him at the same time.  lol.

 

and dsil calls me mom. . . . heart.

In this vein...I think life is about washing dishes and picking up after everyone.

 

reminds me of the science lesson I heard of years ago.

the kids were supposed to give a word that started with "m". . . . the clue was it picks up things.  one child said "mother".

Edited March 26, 2016 by gardenmom5

[TranquilMind]

suffering and eventual death and decay

 

I'm a pessimist so...

 

But yet I'm seriously laughing at what I just typed.  I can laugh at my ridiculousness.......

I don't know why, but that made me laugh out loud too.  It was just ...unexpected, in the stream of responses I was reading. 

 

Are you old enough to remember the song from Hee Haw..."Doom, despair, and agony on me.  Deep dark depression, excessive misery.  If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all.  Doom, despair, and agony on me." (sung in a cheerful tone). 

 

:)

[Guest]

 

In this vein...I think life is about washing dishes and picking up after everyone.

 

 

I spent the first half-century of my life hating having to wash the dishes.

 

Then I realized that the alternative was eating take-out all the time and having a garbage can full of styrofoam containers every week.

 

/OT

Edited March 26, 2016 by Guest

[livetoread]

I don't think there is any overall meaning of life given to humans from anywhere else, but that doesn't mean our lives have no meaning. We create the meaning for our lives. My life has meaning through my relationships with others and the impact I have on the world while I'm here, for better or for worse.

[HRAAB]

For most people, it's probably surviving from one day to the next - just living.

 

For me it's about loving: smiling at a stranger, lending an sympathetic ear to a friend, hugging my children, being patient with those who drive me crazy, holding my dh's hand.  Just simple things.

[HRAAB]

I don't know why, but that made me laugh out loud too.  It was just ...unexpected, in the stream of responses I was reading. 

 

Are you old enough to remember the song from Hee Haw..."Doom, despair, and agony on me.  Deep dark depression, excessive misery.  If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all.  Doom, despair, and agony on me." (sung in a cheerful tone). 

 

:)

 

One of my dh's favorite to sing.  Our girls learned it early.  He really isn't a doom an despair type person, most of the time anyway.  It's how he would lighten up a dark mood.

[lllll]

nm

Edited March 28, 2016 by _kathy_

[Guest]

to help each other

[Carolinagirl1]

I guess the religious answer is 'Pleasing God'.  The application of that, however, is more like stumbling around in the dark until some light appears, beckoning me to go in this or that direction.  And hoping that that often faint, little light remains lit long enough to get me to wherever the heck it is that I'm supposed to be going.  Kind of a cosmic crapshoot.  :tongue_smilie:  

 

This just struck me, and I'm not sure I can really put an adequate response into words, but I'll try. Although I don't feel like the meaning of life is "pleasing God", because God gives us our own free will to do as we please, I do feel like when I am living in a way that is pleasing to God, I am walking in light, not stumbling around in darkness. I feel a sense of peace. I am uplifted, rather than depressed, which is the way I think God wanted it to be for us. I know where I am headed when I live in a way that is pleasing to God. I know when I love others, that it is pleasing to God, and I think that the meaning of life is mainly to love others. There is no faint little light. God gives us instruction to live our best lives, to live lives without guilt and sadness and pain. I have done lots of things in my life that would not be pleasing to God. Lots. And what did it bring me? Darkness, guilt, and pain. Guilt is painful and dark. If only I had followed God's word to begin with, I would not have that dark shadow lingering over my life in the form of guilt. If I know the word of God, there is no guessing or crapshoot about where I am headed, because I am headed there in light.