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This is what you’ve all been waiting for. The secret to the universe. The meaning of life.
Who am I to believe I know the meaning of life, when this question has been pondered for many centuries, by people much more intelligent and wise than I am? I have no answer for that, but I think the answer to this question is relatively simple.
The meaning of life: Happiness, and the pursuit of it.
You may be laughing now, but read on until the end for my full reasoning.
Think of all the motions we go through in a day. What are the reasons for them?
Example #1: You buy a pair of sneakers on sale, even though you know you don’t need them.
Yes, maybe you are a spendthrift of sorts. But why would you buy the sneakers? Because at that point in time, you find them desirable, and maybe you can even go so far as to say that you want them. Buying the sneakers fulfils your want, which in turn makes you satisfied or happy.
Example #2: A mother gives a lollipop to her son, for no particular reason.
The mother is giving something away, what does this have to do with anything? She probably knows that her son likes lollipops, and giving him a lollipop will make him happy. Since he is one of the things that she loves most in this world, seeing her son happy, will probably also make her happy. Do you see where this is going?
Example #3: You eat Special K for breakfast, because the advertisements say it will make you skinny.
Surely, this is an example of media persuasion? Yes, but no. You eat the Special K because you believe it will make you skinny. You want to be skinny because you think being thin is a good thing. If you become thin, you will feel better about yourself. You might even say you feel good or happy with your body.
Example #4: You buy a house, and make payments on it monthly.
This is quite a complicated one in comparison.
Buying a house à Ownership of a house à Being able to take shelter inside à Having a place to live à Not having to sleep out on the streets
Most people are very happy if they have a place to sleep when it’s raining, right?
Example #5: Studying hard to achieve a 90% and over score on your Maths test.
This isn’t very interesting, if all your little friends are out watching movies. So why would somebody do it? Not because they necessarily care about their score (one small test in year seven isn’t going to make a difference with what happens in the future, so who cares?), but because they know that even if they don’t care, somebody else will care. Namely, their parents. So, they are studying hard in order to avoid the wrath of their parents, if they received a lower score. This will make their parents happy, which means the parents will not spank the child, which means that the child will also be relatively happy.
I haven’t yet exhausted my supply of examples yet, but I guessed these were good enough for my explanation. What I’m trying to convey with these examples is that even if on the surface, it seems obvious enough (ie. You eat Special K = you’re trying to be skinny), but there is more to it than that, even if you don’t know it. The motive to everything we do in life is to be happy. However, if we were happy all the time, we would take it for granted and it wouldn’t hold any special value anymore. Therefore, the pursuit of happiness is also a very important factor in life’s meaning.
Your objective for the day: Find two things that you did which stem from your need to be happy.
Now tell me, what is your view on the meaning to life?
