Humanity has been talking about the meaning of life since the earliest times of its existence.
People are social creatures with an instinct for survival inherent in nature. At a basic level, this survival requires food, drink, rest, and procreation. It is a poet that the meaning of life at the earliest stage of human existence could consist in the continuation of the process of evolution. But the more conscious people became, the deeper the understanding of their true purpose acquired for them.
Thanks to intelligence, curiosity, the ability to analyze and reflect, many minds began to ask more and more the question “What do I live for?”, Trying with its help not only to be realized, but even to survive in difficult periods.
Human striving for the search for truth, knowledge of himself and the world around him finds expression in all his activities. Despite the relative disinterest in the study of the meaning of life among analytical philosophers for much of the twentieth century, the number of works on this topic has grown significantly over the past two decades.
In the words of twentieth century psychoanalyst Bruno Bettelheim, "the greatest need and the most difficult achievement is to find meaning in our lives." And psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor, said that the human will to meaning precedes either “our will to pleasure or our will to power”.
In short, the meaning of life is what a person lives for and what he strives for throughout the entire conscious age. Its main characteristics are uniqueness, variability depending on a particular life period or circumstances, and compliance with the main life values.
Questions about the search for meaning arise and take shape in various contexts of human activity:
Quotes about life with meaning are one of the most popular searches on the Internet, along with the question of defining a goal. People want to know if they have a goal, and if so, what it is. Many of them believe that there is some kind of space mission around which life can be ordered.
There are five views on the meaning of life:
Objectivists claim that there are absolute truths that have value, although they may disagree with what they are. For example, some of them say that the meaning of human life lies in creativity, while others believe that only virtue and morality give it true meaning. Subjectivists consider these views too narrow. If the meaning is determined through knowledge, then it can come from any number of sources.
For subjectivists, life makes sense, but its value is created by the person himself in his mind and can change over time. The meaning of life for people can diminish or disappear as a result of a breakdown or difficult or tragic circumstances. It can also change from one phase of life to another due to personal development, new interests, context, commitment and maturity.
Life with meaning can be assessed from the standpoint of significance for a person at a specific stage of time, even in a very short time. What is valuable and important in one period may lose its relevance in a year. So, for example, the desire to achieve career heights at the very beginning of the professional path of a young specialist in a few years may be replaced by his desire to be realized as a good and responsible parent.
In Philosophy Today, professor of politics at the University of London, Tim Bale, gives an extremely simple answer: "The meaning of life is not about being dead."
Many philosophers offer similar answers. Richard Taylor suggests that it is not effort and achievement that makes life meaningful, but the fact that a person can just be alive and well. Casey Woodling, Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Coastal Carolina University, suggested that meaningfulness in human life is filled with the opportunity to reflect on its living”.
Achievement of goals, work, hobbies, family, financial success - all this is undoubtedly great, but, according to Woodling, does not really matter. However, it is worth considering why people are so eager to get it. "This is close to Socrates' famous saying that an unexplored life is not worth living," Woodling writes. “I would venture to say that an unexplored life has no meaning”.
In Man's Search for Meaning, psychiatrist and neurologist Viktor Frankl wrote about his experiences in a concentration camp during World War II. Frankl found that it was not those physically stronger that survived those inhuman conditions, but those who retained a sense of control over the environment and were driven by a specific goal. It was this goal, according to the psychiatrist, that helped people in the concentration camp to remain motivated to live and believe in their bright future.
After surviving imprisonment and going through all the horror of Nazi concentration camps, the psychiatrist wrote a book that has become a guide for many people in understanding what the meaning of their life is. Frankl's goal, his will to live despite being in the harshest conditions, stemmed from his desire to write about this experience later. The writer noted that others who survived in the camps also had a specific goal - they were determined to see their families after the war or to help other prisoners live while maintaining a sense of humanity.
Having a meaning in life not only helps to get through difficult times, but also has a beneficial effect on people's health. American scientists, who conducted a study for three years, in which they interviewed 1,042 residents of the city of San Diego between the ages of 21 and 100, came to an interesting conclusion. People who have found meaning become much calmer, do not experience stress and other health problems, unlike those who consider their life meaningless.
The researchers found that the percentage of people who are satisfied with life differs significantly in different age groups. The largest number of people who were satisfied with their current condition were among the 60-year-old Americans surveyed.
Scientists believe that it is the presence of the meaning of life that makes it possible to improve the physical condition of patients and propose to use this therapy in medicine.
“To my surprise, most of the people I talked to about the essence of the meaning of life told me that they didn't think their life was meaningful enough. Many even imagined their life to be frankly meaningless, ”the philosopher writes. “But I often found the reasons my interlocutors gave their views problematic. Many, I thought, did not ask appropriate questions that could change their views, or take action that could improve their condition. Most people who complained about the meaninglessness of life found it difficult to even explain what they meant by this concept”.
In other words, Landau believes that people who feel they are living their lives aimlessly are in fact misunderstanding the issue. He became one of the many thinkers who, over the centuries, have tried to figure out what a meaningful life is.
The opinions of philosophers on this score are numerous, varied and, to varying degrees, practical. The famous thinker Friedrich Nietzsche, for example, said that this question does not make sense in itself, because in the middle of life a person is not able to determine whether his life matters, and it is not possible to go beyond the process of existence to find an answer.
Iddo Landau believed that anyone who believes that life is meaningless also recognizes the importance of value. In other words, if a person thinks that his life is devoid of any meaning, then he believes that there is such a thing as value.
Many popular statuses about meaningful life claim that absolutely everyone is able to change the value of their life through practice, effort, action and reflection. The philosopher notes that the world is changeable: people change their place of residence, make acquaintances, get interesting experience and knowledge, meet new ideas. As a person changes, his values change, as well as the goals and meaning of life.
For life to not be meaningless, it does not have to be unique at all. According to Landau, the belief that uniqueness is associated with meaning is another mistake many make. This misconception, in his opinion, “leads to the fact that some people unnecessarily consider their life insufficiently significant and miss ways to give it meaning”.
Admittedly, this is important in several areas: for example, in creativity, value also depends on originality, since it makes no sense to simply repeat what other artists have already created.
Likewise, scientific achievements are valued for their originality and innovation. Blind repetition of other people's conclusions is of no particular value. And this, of course, means that at the time of presentation of scientific results, they must be unique.
However, for the most part, uniqueness is not important for determining the meaning of life. For example, love between parents and children is valuable not because it differs from love between other parents and babies, but because of its warmth and emotional closeness.
Thus, the emphasis on uniqueness is another mistake associated with defining value. This mistake leads some people to the fact that they unnecessarily consider their life not meaningful enough and, thereby, miss out on ways to give it meaning.
The presence or, conversely, the absence of meaning is determined by values that are important to a person. Based on them, he determines whether his life is successful or not. For example, it is difficult for parents who have lost their child in a car accident to perceive the present reality in the previous context. Perhaps they will see meaning in life again only if they find other things that, in their opinion, are of high enough value (for example, the birth or adoption of a child).
Someone begins to consider their existence meaningless, because they cannot achieve certain career heights in work. For such people, the main or only important issue is the achievement of career excellence. This makes them blind to other issues that may be relevant. That is why they begin to feel the aimlessness of their existence.
It is important to note this close relationship between meaning and value, because it is it that allows you to draw many conclusions that can be useful for people who believe their life is not meaningful enough.
People's views on the meaninglessness of life can often be wrong. Some people unfairly believe that they are bad parents, while others incorrectly believe that their parenting methods are perfect. Some people unreasonably think that the art they create is not very good, while others are mistaken, believing that they are creating masterpieces. Someone, for example, underestimates or overestimates their own sense of humor, knowledge or ability to play any musical instrument.
This misjudgment is seen in many areas. This means that the same thing can happen with the definition of the meaning of life. Surprisingly, many people who consider their life not meaningful enough are absolutely sure that this is so. They are convinced that their ideas about this must be accurate and reliable.
Noting that the meaning of life is based on values, a person also focuses on bringing it through concrete actions. To make our existence more meaningful, it is necessary to improve what is of value.
You can bring new values to life, increase, re-realize or re-evaluate existing values. Many people, including those who believe they are wasting years aimlessly, devote more time and effort in one evening to contemplating which movie to go to than thinking about what could make their life more meaningful.
Landau argued that meaning is a sense of significance, which everyone defines for themselves independently, based on different aspects - relationships, creativity, achievements in a particular field or generosity, and other opportunities.
For those who are preoccupied with the question of the meaningless living of life, Iddo Landau offers a rethinking and search for meaning in other things. So, for example, if a person does not feel meaning in life, because he has not realized himself in his profession, he should try to find him in his other endeavors, such as relationships, volunteer work, travel or creative activity. Also, according to the philosopher, he should take a closer look at what he is doing - perhaps something significant and valuable is already happening in his life, which he has not yet paid due attention to.
Often people who have experienced serious trials, such as, for example, an incurable disease, the loss of a loved one, or a big bankruptcy, come to understand their own destiny. Having experienced severe stress, they reassessed their values and stopped taking the life given to them for granted. Many of them found themselves in charity and helping those who faced a similar problem.
Fortunately, in order to understand the purpose of your existence, it is not at all necessary to wait for bad events. To do this, it is enough to devote a little time to reflection and introspection.
To determine what is really close and important, you need to understand yourself well. It's worth asking yourself a number of questions:
The meaning for different people may lie in different moments: in supporting the football team, in conquering new mountain peaks, in conscious parenting, in music, in helping others, in the search for truth through philosophy, etc. But the hallmark of all these examples is a consciousness that is positively and constructively absorbed, involved, expanded and realized.
You can get to know yourself even better with the right techniques and questions in the Self-Knowledge Online Program. Correct reflection allows you to determine not only the meaning of life, but also to understand your strengths, which will help to realize this meaning. Having found answers to many questions, you realize what is important, close and valuable to you.
Until there is a single meaning, each person can live his life so that every day brings him as much satisfaction as possible. As Konrad Lorenz put it: "Life itself is a process of cognition." According to this interpretation of evolution, the essence of life is the pursuit of knowledge: knowledge about the real world, which is constantly checked against this world.
That which works and is "true" in this sense is preserved. Life, according to the scientist, is a proven knowledge that has stood the test of geological time. From this point of view, accepting the search for knowledge as a possible meaning of life seems to be literally a natural choice.
“The meaning of life does not care what you attribute to it. The point is to be alive "
Joseph Campbell
"Whoever we are, whatever we make of ourselves, this is all that we will ever have, and this, in its deep simplicity, is the meaning of life."
Philip Appleman
“Our main goal in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't harm them. "
Dalai lama
“There is no one great cosmic meaning for all; there is only that meaning that each of us gives to his life, an individual meaning, an individual plot, like a separate novel, a book for each person "
Anais Nin
"The true meaning of life is to plant trees in the shade of which you don't expect to sit."
Nelson Henderson
“The meaning of life is not just to exist, to survive, but to move forward, rise, achieve, win”
Arnold Schwarzenegger
“Life should be fun, joyful and fulfilling. May each of you be like that "
Jim Henson
"The ultimate goal of the human mind in all its manifestations is to get acquainted with the truth"
Eliza Farnham
"I am of the opinion that my life belongs to society, and while I am alive, I have the honor to do everything I can for him."
George Bernard Shaw
"I feel like the ability to care is what gives life its deepest meaning."
Pablo Casals
"A person born with a talent that he is called to use finds his greatest happiness in using it."
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“Our goal is not to become each other. It means getting to know each other, learning to see the other and respect him for what he is. "
Hermann Hesse
"Start living right away and consider every day a separate life"
Seneca
“Every moment of your life is infinitely creative and the universe is infinitely generous. Just formulate a sufficiently clear request, and whatever your heart desires should come to you. "
Mahatma Gandhi
Each of these quotes about the meaning of life illuminates precisely those values that were close to its author.
The meaning of life is determined according to the beliefs held by people. However, all human belief systems are, to one degree or another, accurate or erroneous in their description of the world. Moreover, belief systems change over time: from generation to generation, from culture to culture, from era to era.
The beliefs that are held today even by the general population did not exist yesterday and may not be tomorrow. Therefore, these belief systems, whether religious or secular, are arbitrary, and in order to determine their purpose, you need to abandon these systems. Otherwise, the meaning of life cannot be determined.
Knowledge and understanding of our own values helps to understand why each of us came to this world. And with the help of realizing the meaning of life, a person can not only live the years allotted to him happily and survive difficult times, but also significantly improve his health and motivate himself for great achievements.
People are social creatures with an instinct for survival inherent in nature. At a basic level, this survival requires food, drink, rest, and procreation. It is a poet that the meaning of life at the earliest stage of human existence could consist in the continuation of the process of evolution. But the more conscious people became, the deeper the understanding of their true purpose acquired for them.
Thanks to intelligence, curiosity, the ability to analyze and reflect, many minds began to ask more and more the question “What do I live for?”, Trying with its help not only to be realized, but even to survive in difficult periods.
What is the meaning of life?
Plato once defined man as a bipedal animal with no feathers and wide nails. Later, he also gave another definition - “a creature in search of meaning”.Human striving for the search for truth, knowledge of himself and the world around him finds expression in all his activities. Despite the relative disinterest in the study of the meaning of life among analytical philosophers for much of the twentieth century, the number of works on this topic has grown significantly over the past two decades.
In the words of twentieth century psychoanalyst Bruno Bettelheim, "the greatest need and the most difficult achievement is to find meaning in our lives." And psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor, said that the human will to meaning precedes either “our will to pleasure or our will to power”.
In short, the meaning of life is what a person lives for and what he strives for throughout the entire conscious age. Its main characteristics are uniqueness, variability depending on a particular life period or circumstances, and compliance with the main life values.
Questions about the search for meaning arise and take shape in various contexts of human activity:
- when trying to make an important decision about what to do with your life;
- when trapped in a job that he hates;
- when wondering if there is more than the daily hustle and bustle;
- when he falls ill with an incurable disease;
- when experiencing the loss of family and friends;
- when he feels weak and alone.
Quotes about life with meaning are one of the most popular searches on the Internet, along with the question of defining a goal. People want to know if they have a goal, and if so, what it is. Many of them believe that there is some kind of space mission around which life can be ordered.
There are five views on the meaning of life:
- A supernatural view that asserts that the existence of a higher intelligence, along with a "proper attitude" towards it, is sufficient to ensure a meaningful life.
- Subjective naturalism, according to which the meaning of life varies from person to person and is formed by achieving the goals set for him.
- Objective naturalism, which asserts that a full life is possible in a purely physical world, devoid of spiritual realities.
- Hybrid naturalism, the supporters of which believe that meaning is not present in a life filled with useless affairs and vanity. However, it can also be absent when a person participates in worthwhile and objectively valuable projects, provided that he does not put his soul into them.
- Pessimistic naturalism (nihilism) is a point of view that denies the possibility of a fulfilling life, because literally nothing has value.
Objectivists claim that there are absolute truths that have value, although they may disagree with what they are. For example, some of them say that the meaning of human life lies in creativity, while others believe that only virtue and morality give it true meaning. Subjectivists consider these views too narrow. If the meaning is determined through knowledge, then it can come from any number of sources.
For subjectivists, life makes sense, but its value is created by the person himself in his mind and can change over time. The meaning of life for people can diminish or disappear as a result of a breakdown or difficult or tragic circumstances. It can also change from one phase of life to another due to personal development, new interests, context, commitment and maturity.
Life with meaning can be assessed from the standpoint of significance for a person at a specific stage of time, even in a very short time. What is valuable and important in one period may lose its relevance in a year. So, for example, the desire to achieve career heights at the very beginning of the professional path of a young specialist in a few years may be replaced by his desire to be realized as a good and responsible parent.
In Philosophy Today, professor of politics at the University of London, Tim Bale, gives an extremely simple answer: "The meaning of life is not about being dead."
Many philosophers offer similar answers. Richard Taylor suggests that it is not effort and achievement that makes life meaningful, but the fact that a person can just be alive and well. Casey Woodling, Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Coastal Carolina University, suggested that meaningfulness in human life is filled with the opportunity to reflect on its living”.
Achievement of goals, work, hobbies, family, financial success - all this is undoubtedly great, but, according to Woodling, does not really matter. However, it is worth considering why people are so eager to get it. "This is close to Socrates' famous saying that an unexplored life is not worth living," Woodling writes. “I would venture to say that an unexplored life has no meaning”.
Why does a person need a meaning in life?
About life with a sense one can speak in different contexts. It is not reduced to one key goal-principle, but is embodied in significant and defining, albeit derivative, meanings of life, reflecting the main views and positions of a person.In Man's Search for Meaning, psychiatrist and neurologist Viktor Frankl wrote about his experiences in a concentration camp during World War II. Frankl found that it was not those physically stronger that survived those inhuman conditions, but those who retained a sense of control over the environment and were driven by a specific goal. It was this goal, according to the psychiatrist, that helped people in the concentration camp to remain motivated to live and believe in their bright future.
After surviving imprisonment and going through all the horror of Nazi concentration camps, the psychiatrist wrote a book that has become a guide for many people in understanding what the meaning of their life is. Frankl's goal, his will to live despite being in the harshest conditions, stemmed from his desire to write about this experience later. The writer noted that others who survived in the camps also had a specific goal - they were determined to see their families after the war or to help other prisoners live while maintaining a sense of humanity.
Having a meaning in life not only helps to get through difficult times, but also has a beneficial effect on people's health. American scientists, who conducted a study for three years, in which they interviewed 1,042 residents of the city of San Diego between the ages of 21 and 100, came to an interesting conclusion. People who have found meaning become much calmer, do not experience stress and other health problems, unlike those who consider their life meaningless.
The researchers found that the percentage of people who are satisfied with life differs significantly in different age groups. The largest number of people who were satisfied with their current condition were among the 60-year-old Americans surveyed.
Scientists believe that it is the presence of the meaning of life that makes it possible to improve the physical condition of patients and propose to use this therapy in medicine.
What does “meaningless life” mean?
Some seem to spend their entire lives unsatisfied, in constant search of purpose. The philosopher Iddo Landau assumes that every person has everything he needs for a full existence. In his opinion, people make mistakes when they feel that life is meaningless. The mistake is based on their inability to understand what really matters. Instead, they are overly focused on what, in their opinion, is lacking for a full-fledged existence.“To my surprise, most of the people I talked to about the essence of the meaning of life told me that they didn't think their life was meaningful enough. Many even imagined their life to be frankly meaningless, ”the philosopher writes. “But I often found the reasons my interlocutors gave their views problematic. Many, I thought, did not ask appropriate questions that could change their views, or take action that could improve their condition. Most people who complained about the meaninglessness of life found it difficult to even explain what they meant by this concept”.
In other words, Landau believes that people who feel they are living their lives aimlessly are in fact misunderstanding the issue. He became one of the many thinkers who, over the centuries, have tried to figure out what a meaningful life is.
The opinions of philosophers on this score are numerous, varied and, to varying degrees, practical. The famous thinker Friedrich Nietzsche, for example, said that this question does not make sense in itself, because in the middle of life a person is not able to determine whether his life matters, and it is not possible to go beyond the process of existence to find an answer.
Iddo Landau believed that anyone who believes that life is meaningless also recognizes the importance of value. In other words, if a person thinks that his life is devoid of any meaning, then he believes that there is such a thing as value.
Many popular statuses about meaningful life claim that absolutely everyone is able to change the value of their life through practice, effort, action and reflection. The philosopher notes that the world is changeable: people change their place of residence, make acquaintances, get interesting experience and knowledge, meet new ideas. As a person changes, his values change, as well as the goals and meaning of life.
For life to not be meaningless, it does not have to be unique at all. According to Landau, the belief that uniqueness is associated with meaning is another mistake many make. This misconception, in his opinion, “leads to the fact that some people unnecessarily consider their life insufficiently significant and miss ways to give it meaning”.
Admittedly, this is important in several areas: for example, in creativity, value also depends on originality, since it makes no sense to simply repeat what other artists have already created.
Likewise, scientific achievements are valued for their originality and innovation. Blind repetition of other people's conclusions is of no particular value. And this, of course, means that at the time of presentation of scientific results, they must be unique.
However, for the most part, uniqueness is not important for determining the meaning of life. For example, love between parents and children is valuable not because it differs from love between other parents and babies, but because of its warmth and emotional closeness.
Thus, the emphasis on uniqueness is another mistake associated with defining value. This mistake leads some people to the fact that they unnecessarily consider their life not meaningful enough and, thereby, miss out on ways to give it meaning.
The presence or, conversely, the absence of meaning is determined by values that are important to a person. Based on them, he determines whether his life is successful or not. For example, it is difficult for parents who have lost their child in a car accident to perceive the present reality in the previous context. Perhaps they will see meaning in life again only if they find other things that, in their opinion, are of high enough value (for example, the birth or adoption of a child).
Someone begins to consider their existence meaningless, because they cannot achieve certain career heights in work. For such people, the main or only important issue is the achievement of career excellence. This makes them blind to other issues that may be relevant. That is why they begin to feel the aimlessness of their existence.
It is important to note this close relationship between meaning and value, because it is it that allows you to draw many conclusions that can be useful for people who believe their life is not meaningful enough.
People's views on the meaninglessness of life can often be wrong. Some people unfairly believe that they are bad parents, while others incorrectly believe that their parenting methods are perfect. Some people unreasonably think that the art they create is not very good, while others are mistaken, believing that they are creating masterpieces. Someone, for example, underestimates or overestimates their own sense of humor, knowledge or ability to play any musical instrument.
This misjudgment is seen in many areas. This means that the same thing can happen with the definition of the meaning of life. Surprisingly, many people who consider their life not meaningful enough are absolutely sure that this is so. They are convinced that their ideas about this must be accurate and reliable.
Noting that the meaning of life is based on values, a person also focuses on bringing it through concrete actions. To make our existence more meaningful, it is necessary to improve what is of value.
You can bring new values to life, increase, re-realize or re-evaluate existing values. Many people, including those who believe they are wasting years aimlessly, devote more time and effort in one evening to contemplating which movie to go to than thinking about what could make their life more meaningful.
Landau argued that meaning is a sense of significance, which everyone defines for themselves independently, based on different aspects - relationships, creativity, achievements in a particular field or generosity, and other opportunities.
For those who are preoccupied with the question of the meaningless living of life, Iddo Landau offers a rethinking and search for meaning in other things. So, for example, if a person does not feel meaning in life, because he has not realized himself in his profession, he should try to find him in his other endeavors, such as relationships, volunteer work, travel or creative activity. Also, according to the philosopher, he should take a closer look at what he is doing - perhaps something significant and valuable is already happening in his life, which he has not yet paid due attention to.
How to understand your meaning in life?
You can endlessly reread hundreds of statuses from social networks about the meaning of life, but you can only understand what really drives each of us if you understand yourself well.Often people who have experienced serious trials, such as, for example, an incurable disease, the loss of a loved one, or a big bankruptcy, come to understand their own destiny. Having experienced severe stress, they reassessed their values and stopped taking the life given to them for granted. Many of them found themselves in charity and helping those who faced a similar problem.
Fortunately, in order to understand the purpose of your existence, it is not at all necessary to wait for bad events. To do this, it is enough to devote a little time to reflection and introspection.
To determine what is really close and important, you need to understand yourself well. It's worth asking yourself a number of questions:
- What brings me sincere joy?
- For what am I ready to wake up with pleasure in the morning?
- What tasks do I perform while in thread state?
- What am I not ready to live a day without?
- What makes my life worthwhile?
- At what moments do I realize that I am really happy?
- If I could do my dream job, what kind of business would it be?
The meaning for different people may lie in different moments: in supporting the football team, in conquering new mountain peaks, in conscious parenting, in music, in helping others, in the search for truth through philosophy, etc. But the hallmark of all these examples is a consciousness that is positively and constructively absorbed, involved, expanded and realized.
You can get to know yourself even better with the right techniques and questions in the Self-Knowledge Online Program. Correct reflection allows you to determine not only the meaning of life, but also to understand your strengths, which will help to realize this meaning. Having found answers to many questions, you realize what is important, close and valuable to you.
Until there is a single meaning, each person can live his life so that every day brings him as much satisfaction as possible. As Konrad Lorenz put it: "Life itself is a process of cognition." According to this interpretation of evolution, the essence of life is the pursuit of knowledge: knowledge about the real world, which is constantly checked against this world.
That which works and is "true" in this sense is preserved. Life, according to the scientist, is a proven knowledge that has stood the test of geological time. From this point of view, accepting the search for knowledge as a possible meaning of life seems to be literally a natural choice.
Quotes about the meaning of life
Publics on social networks are replete with a large number of quotes and statements of famous people dedicated to the meaning of life. We have prepared a selection for you, in which everyone can find something interesting for themselves:“The meaning of life does not care what you attribute to it. The point is to be alive "
Joseph Campbell
"Whoever we are, whatever we make of ourselves, this is all that we will ever have, and this, in its deep simplicity, is the meaning of life."
Philip Appleman
“Our main goal in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't harm them. "
Dalai lama
“There is no one great cosmic meaning for all; there is only that meaning that each of us gives to his life, an individual meaning, an individual plot, like a separate novel, a book for each person "
Anais Nin
"The true meaning of life is to plant trees in the shade of which you don't expect to sit."
Nelson Henderson
“The meaning of life is not just to exist, to survive, but to move forward, rise, achieve, win”
Arnold Schwarzenegger
“Life should be fun, joyful and fulfilling. May each of you be like that "
Jim Henson
"The ultimate goal of the human mind in all its manifestations is to get acquainted with the truth"
Eliza Farnham
"I am of the opinion that my life belongs to society, and while I am alive, I have the honor to do everything I can for him."
George Bernard Shaw
"I feel like the ability to care is what gives life its deepest meaning."
Pablo Casals
"A person born with a talent that he is called to use finds his greatest happiness in using it."
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“Our goal is not to become each other. It means getting to know each other, learning to see the other and respect him for what he is. "
Hermann Hesse
"Start living right away and consider every day a separate life"
Seneca
“Every moment of your life is infinitely creative and the universe is infinitely generous. Just formulate a sufficiently clear request, and whatever your heart desires should come to you. "
Mahatma Gandhi
Each of these quotes about the meaning of life illuminates precisely those values that were close to its author.
The meaning of life is determined according to the beliefs held by people. However, all human belief systems are, to one degree or another, accurate or erroneous in their description of the world. Moreover, belief systems change over time: from generation to generation, from culture to culture, from era to era.
The beliefs that are held today even by the general population did not exist yesterday and may not be tomorrow. Therefore, these belief systems, whether religious or secular, are arbitrary, and in order to determine their purpose, you need to abandon these systems. Otherwise, the meaning of life cannot be determined.
Conclusion
Perhaps the question of the meaning of life and purpose will never be fully understood. The idea of it can be different for each person. But this does not mean at all that you should not overload your brain with the search for an answer to this question.Knowledge and understanding of our own values helps to understand why each of us came to this world. And with the help of realizing the meaning of life, a person can not only live the years allotted to him happily and survive difficult times, but also significantly improve his health and motivate himself for great achievements.
