Thought Stream

Interesting Sayings to Analyze

• I’m not the type to convince, just suggest and open some mental doors for you

Does life have meaning, or do we give it meaning?

Regardless of what the answer is, I think it can be agreed upon that a life without purpose is and feels meaningless. From one end of the spectrum to the other, a life lived without some deity such as the god of pleasure or the God of the Bible or even the being's self-praise, is a life with a purpose. Without meaning, a life is dull. We may as well point a gun at our own heads and blow our brains out, because whether alive or dead, our life essentially doesn't matter.

But deep within each of us, I think we know, or at least want to believe that, our life is not meaningless; when looking at the stars, we are reminded of how small we are in the grand arena of the Universe, yet we still seek confirmation in the importance of our thoughts and actions.

I believe that life is not just pleasure; we grow when we are uncomfortable, when we suffer. To my estimation, it seems like a life well lived is marked by progress, and progress is only possible after having defined a goal, and hence a purpose.

I've always been goal-oriented, but I think I've realized that goals are really the only thing that keeps us from going insane, because without goals, we can't make progress, and without progress, there's no quantifiable way for us measure the quality of our life. Without being convinced we've lived life well, we may also convince ourselves that our lives were meaningless.