Existentialists have developed their philosophy around the idea that "life is absurd." Hedonists have made it their life goal to pursue pleasure. There are also those who look at life as meaningless. Quite frankly, such thinking is a tad too depressing. If it is meaningless, what prevents people from suicide? It is because they have found their purpose in life and have actively sought meaning.
People are aware that life is very short and will end someday. As such, when a family member or a loved one dies, they are confronted with the shortness of life and the fleeting nature of everything. Depending on the points of view that people may have and the intensity of their feelings, they might want to do something significant and important before they die. They want to discover their purpose and live their lives in accordance with that vision.
Finding meaning in life, however, does not come naturally. Rather, it should be sought actively within the heart of the person or even in his environment. This is not an easy undertaking and sometimes, the temptation to back off and just live life without purpose is too great. People, of course, do not realize that they are living life without purpose. They just go through each day without thinking about what truly makes them alive, what gives them purpose and meaning. Each decision and action actually becomes an implicit answer to the search for the meaning of life.
A lengthy life is a good one. Well, not exactly. There are still a lot of factors that should be looked at. Instead of looking at the length of one's life, we should be looking at its depth. Problems are as much a part of life as victories and successes. Yet, these problems provide an opportunity for people to think about what truly matters to them. This is because at the heart of every problem is a choice of what is important to the person: career, spirituality, social standing, riches, or whatever.
By taking a look at the problems that one life has experienced, the lessons learned become apparent and depth becomes more visible to a person trying to review one's life. Not every person who dies gets a chance to have a biographer who will write the story of his life. Yet, every life lived to the fullest will be remembered by people who were touched by such a life.
So how do we find meaning? The first step is through personal experiences – experiences through something to which we are familiar and through someone we value. Develop your appreciation of beauty – that is heightening your sensitivity to beauty such as in great art or wonders in nature. The most important of all these type of experiences is the love we feel toward each other. To love another and to demonstrate this to such an extent as to allow your beloved to develop – and by doing this we will find that we develop meaning ourselves. Love is the highest purpose to which we can aspire.
Not to make the mistake of confusing sex with love. Sex can only be enjoyed fully when it is a physical expression of love. Maybe you will scoff but how many people do you know who are happy jumping from one bed to another.
A second step to meaning in your life is through creative values. Doing good, a good act toward a fellow human being – do it and see how you feel afterwards. Live life to the full, but not becoming busy. We are all guilty of running around with no time to do anything at all! No, become involved in a methodical and purposeful way, have zest for life. Get a project to become involved with anything creative such as, music, writing, art. something inventive.
The third way is your attitude. As the great philosopher said – it is better to treat people the way you would like them to treat you. Your attitude will bounce back to you. By going as far as – dare I say – not putting yourself first. We are all told to look after number one – it is all about you – does it feel good for you – what do you get out of it. Think about it – what would it be like if truly everyone thought only about themselves. A young couple about to get married they love each other – do they put themselves first? No – no they do not. However, give them a few years of marriage and both parties are unhappy because of me, myself and I. Do not forget your first love – return to your first love and discover the meaning. The attitude you give out to others will have an effect on you. To be positive and see good in everything takes practice. Being positive is hard work – however - negative thoughts will just happen all by themselves.
Always I say it is down to choice. We may feel we are victims in a situation buy you have a choice to stay in misery or do something about it – and it starts with you, with the three steps above and not looking to other to blame. Meaning to your life will not just happen it is a choice you must make.
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