If you've rushed to this post as an explanation of higher powers or what true purpose is or what yours might be, I'm sorry; that's not what I'm going to talk about.
What I am going to talk about is the two meanings of life. They each come up in literature and movies and stories; entire characters and story-archs are based around one or the other. A line could be drawn in the sand and they would very clearly stand on opposite sides, and each one of us can find ourselves on one side or the other. It is my belief that all of us- so long as we are human- belong only on one side.
One meaning of life is simply that: life. To have a pulse; to breathe; to function as a human body is supposed to; to have a conscious; to not be dead. This meaning is very easy to understand. Are you reading this? Then you have life; you are alive. Have you woken up this morning? Then you are alive. No one who does not have life will ever even know I'm writing this, let alone ever read these words.
Now this life is essential; without it, we can have nothing else. We need it. However, this meaning of life is very, very minimalist. It shows up most often as a plot twist in a way to save a life. One is supposed to die, another loves that someone. They find a way (through magic, a wish, an act of god, etc.) to save their life (usually after making a sacrifice). In these stories, the one who was supposed to die does in fact live on. The point of these stories always lies with the other character, the one that made the sacrifice, that wanted to save the life. These characters witness their loved one come back to life, but the life they have is the first meaning of life. They breathe, they function, they live. They are not dead. The character then tried to undo everything, it can't be done, the story goes on.
The point comes from why they try to undo it: because the person who was saved is missing something; they aren't the same, and that something is what they wanted to save. That something is the second meaning of life.
The second meaning of life is nothing simple at all. When I speak about this life, I say the word differently. It feels different on my tongue, and it rings differently through my head. This life is what makes living in the first manner worth anything. This meaning of life is to truthfully live; to experience; to feel; to be passionate; to love; to care. This meaning of life is what gives someone's eyes a spark. This meaning of life is what excites people to their core; it's what makes each and every life its own story.
This meaning of life is the side we should stand with, because without it, we're husks. We breathe, we function, we live. Until we die. Because we all will, like it or not. So while we have life, I beg of you, I beg of every single person, to live. To experience. To love. To care. To be passionate. Stand on this side of the line, and truthfully live.
As for what the meaning of life is? If you ask me, I say you make your own meaning. And as long as you pursue that meaning while living- the second definition, that is- you can't be wrong.
Friday, August 22, 2014
Thursday, August 14, 2014
On Planting an Apple Tree
A friend once told me they believed I could rant about anything given a topic, even an apple. Proving how well she knew me, my mind immediately began racing, thinking about the different types, flavors, contrasts, and why some people might like certain apples over other apples- a certain type given by their parents all the time; if it came from a tree that was special to them; if it was all they had for food growing up, etc.
This is the way my mind works; I see, and I analyze. I think about everything I see and hear in life, even the most mundane of tasks; even what seems to be absolutely pointless- because part of me thinks nothing is pointless when completely thought out; if it does seem pointless, keep thinking.
I can't help my mind working like this, though I wouldn't change it if I could. It does, however, give me a great dissatisfaction with a lot of things that I see around me and things that I see in people. It also creates a great deal of dilemmas I'm unsure of whether I'd have if my mind worked any other way. Thus, my topic: blog posts.
Unsurprisingly, all this thinking has led me to enjoy philosophy immensely. And then, philosophy: what do you do with it? You spread it, if only to try to spread the thinking that comes with it, whether you believe it or not. How do I spread it? Classically, philosophers spoke throughout the town or wrote essays that were later turned into books. Now, people who speak on the street are often ignored, and books can be completely missed. Now, we have social medias. So I do in fact write some thoughts on Twitter and Facebook, though again, that is limited. Finally, an idea that has sat in the back of my mind for a long time, blogs.
For the longest time I questioned whether or not I should actually do a blog. Here is my thought process:
Point: Everything has to adapt and evolve in order to survive, including thought itself, and the way we spread it. Everything is online and through the web now.
Counter-point: However, it's kind of like keeping a diary, isn't it? Isn't that a little, I don't know, immature? (This, I will admit, is a petty reason to argue against doing something, and it lets a very immature reason hold me back. It still came to mind.)
These two argued back and fourth for quite a while, until I actually gave both sides some thought, and realized how foolish the second thought was.
Point: Aren't all books in which philosophers express their ideas and thoughts essentially diaries? Aren't all FB posts and Tweets essentially entries in diaries? Yes. So: to-may-to, to-mah-to. A journal is synonymous with a diary in this case; an essay is synonymous with a diary.
So, finally, I have decided that, to help my mind, and to perhaps spread some thought, I will start a blog. About everything. The smallest parts of everyday operating, life's hardest decisions, life's most confusing elements, games, people... Everything. Let's see if planting this apple seed can grow into a tree and, as it did for Newton, maybe have an apple fall and inspire some ideas, shall we?
This is the way my mind works; I see, and I analyze. I think about everything I see and hear in life, even the most mundane of tasks; even what seems to be absolutely pointless- because part of me thinks nothing is pointless when completely thought out; if it does seem pointless, keep thinking.
I can't help my mind working like this, though I wouldn't change it if I could. It does, however, give me a great dissatisfaction with a lot of things that I see around me and things that I see in people. It also creates a great deal of dilemmas I'm unsure of whether I'd have if my mind worked any other way. Thus, my topic: blog posts.
Unsurprisingly, all this thinking has led me to enjoy philosophy immensely. And then, philosophy: what do you do with it? You spread it, if only to try to spread the thinking that comes with it, whether you believe it or not. How do I spread it? Classically, philosophers spoke throughout the town or wrote essays that were later turned into books. Now, people who speak on the street are often ignored, and books can be completely missed. Now, we have social medias. So I do in fact write some thoughts on Twitter and Facebook, though again, that is limited. Finally, an idea that has sat in the back of my mind for a long time, blogs.
For the longest time I questioned whether or not I should actually do a blog. Here is my thought process:
Point: Everything has to adapt and evolve in order to survive, including thought itself, and the way we spread it. Everything is online and through the web now.
Counter-point: However, it's kind of like keeping a diary, isn't it? Isn't that a little, I don't know, immature? (This, I will admit, is a petty reason to argue against doing something, and it lets a very immature reason hold me back. It still came to mind.)
These two argued back and fourth for quite a while, until I actually gave both sides some thought, and realized how foolish the second thought was.
Point: Aren't all books in which philosophers express their ideas and thoughts essentially diaries? Aren't all FB posts and Tweets essentially entries in diaries? Yes. So: to-may-to, to-mah-to. A journal is synonymous with a diary in this case; an essay is synonymous with a diary.
So, finally, I have decided that, to help my mind, and to perhaps spread some thought, I will start a blog. About everything. The smallest parts of everyday operating, life's hardest decisions, life's most confusing elements, games, people... Everything. Let's see if planting this apple seed can grow into a tree and, as it did for Newton, maybe have an apple fall and inspire some ideas, shall we?
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)