LIFE DRAMA: Our Experiences, What It Throws At Us And What We throw At it

Life is one word that we cannot say this is what it means. There are many views and definitions of the word but all these views and definitions seem not to satisfy every human being who inquires into the meaning of the word. One of the reasons might be because those who defined the meanings of the word do so by being subjective about it or telling us about life from their own angle which in the end negate what we thought life should be all about.

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While i am in the search for the meaning of life, i stumbled on a quote by a philosopher named Albert Camus who thinks it meaningless to look for the meanings of life.

You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life. ― Albert Camus 

So he thinks there is no need searching for what is not there. This view was also echoed by Joseph Campbell

“Life has no meaning. Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life. It is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer.” ― Joseph Campbell

What do you think? Should we strive to know the meaning of life? If we do, can we know it? If we eventually know it meaning, can it make any difference to how we would live afterwards? What do we really need the 'meaning' for?

Existential Nihilism

Existential nihilism is the belief that the world is without meaning and everything has no purpose.

William Shakespeare summarized the existential nihilist's perspective when, in his famous passage near the end of Macbeth, he has Macbeth pour out his disgust for life:

Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more; it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.  Macbeth, Act V, Scene V 

The above also echoed the meaninglessness of life. Jean Paul Sartre, an existentialist maintains that existence precedes essence. He believes that there is no rigid meaning to life such that it has been laid down for us to follow after we become and existential being. For him, we exist first, then give meanings to life according to how we see it. Nothing, for him, is pushing me into doing things i do, i am simply responsible for everything i do.

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The greatest scientist, Albert Einstein believes that those who says life is meaningless are both unhappy and unfit to live!

What is the meaning of human life, or, for that matter, of the life of any creature? To know an answer to this question means to be religious. You ask: Does it many any sense, then, to pose this question? I answer: The man who regards his own life and that of his fellow creatures as meaningless is not merely unhappy but hardly fit for life.  Albert Einstein  

Life has different meanings to different people. The mystery behind the world 'life' and the reality of our experiences suggest it cannot have a straight meaning. 

* What definition do you think someone who lost his parent and started living in an orphanage home would conceive life to be?

* What can a widow who happens to be a sit at home mom would see life to be when she lost her husband?

* What do you think life would mean to a graduate with first class or second class upper riding motorcycle (popularly known as Okada in Nigeria) on the street of Lagos just to feed himself?

* What do you think life would mean to a mother who sent her only child to the university and after her son graduated, he had accident on his way home?

* What do you think life would mean to a woman who has been looking for the fruit of the womb for 15 years but after she conceived for the first time, she had a miscarriage?

* What do you think life would mean to a man who has been living a palace-like life but started living under the bridge of Lagos after he lost his job?

* What do you think life would mean to a market woman selling sweet on the street and her market was destroyed by road task force?

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These and many other questions compounded the mysteries behind the quest to finding a good answer to the meaning of life. These questions are the true life drama!!

While we are searching for the meanings of life, can we at least look at ourselves as embodiment of life! Instead of looking for the meanings of life, why not look at your self and say i am 'life'! This means, your positive impact on people's life has contributed to the meaning of life to them. Your impact on people's life positively could help them see life from another angle and hold on to it.

As a person, i live all my life in Lagos, Nigeria. I had all my certificates in Lagos. So i have this urbanized view about life. I have this idea that life is always about rush because most things here are done in rush. The city brings hope, suggest brighter future. But when i traveled out of Lagos for my NYSC to Niger state, i see life from another angle. I see many people with another cultures. Different views about life. It was a pure rural area where just feeding and perhaps living a happy life is their goals. Life there was modest and they take things easy. Everything there was calm. Believe me, they have a different knowledge about what life is about.

After NYSC, my meaning of life changes. I see things from 'simple' angle. Life becomes live and let others live, strive to help those in need, take only what you can chew, see others as an extension of yourself.

There are many dramas in life, from accident, death, diseases: curable and incurable, births, birthdays, marriages, house warming, naming ceremonies, etc. All these are things we learn in our journey through life but our impact to the lives of others also matters. 

Give meanings to life instead of looking for the meanings! Life is beautiful!

Thanks for reading! I'm @smyle the philosopher

Thanks to @jodipamungkas and @gbenga for the badge.