people are in constant search for the meaning of their life. especially as they become older , when they celebrate their birthday they are asking : what have I managed to accomplish so far ? are those things the important things ? did I manage to accomplish what I was meant to do ? will I be remembered ? will my actions / achievements make a different ? will they inspire other people to go beyond ?
I don’t think that there is an answer about the meaning of life. at least not an answer we can process or understand with our brain.
my belief is because our brain is only a part of our being and each one of us is only a small part of the universe. to understand my point, think that you ask your legs what is the meaning of their life… I’m sure you are smiling now…
so in my perception trying to understand or “tag” the meaning of life – isn’t the right way, because like I said the answers will be false.
l believe that each one have a certain path, that when he follow it he becomes a “natural” part of the universe in a state of wey wu wey.
What matters is to follow your path, when one do so, life are fulfilled, no matter what are the consequences, no matter what are the results, no matter how long you live.
in the bible ( Genesis Chapter 2 ) it is written : “No shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground” – so according to this man was created so the “system” of life can exist. each man in his own path.
How to find our path ?
I believe that the path is revealed to us by being aware to what happens in our life, by discovering where life is pointing us…
I will give you myself as an example : I have experienced many things in my life, learned a lot of things, but only lately I’ve became aware of the connection between some small part of the experiences that what makes them unique is the fact that they are connected, each one of them is amplifying the others and when connecting the dots, my life path is revealed.
The pieces are :
- my love to paint – I just love the ability to see something that touches my heart, and capture his essence into a painting, may it be a beautiful nature scenery, people in love, a lonely sad old man.
- my love for nature and all living creatures – I became aware on how each creature see the world differently, learned to see trough their eyes, understand the complexity of the universe
- practicing Aikido – I discovered the way energy is flowing around us, inside us and how we can use it…a whole new world is being revealed before me…
- Creation and maintenance of natural planted aquariums a beautiful underwater worlds – again, it all starts from something that inspires me: a real underworld scenery, an imaginery world like avatar… I’ve learned how to create and maintain an environment in balance, a small world that can exist only if all of his parts will function properly.
- mastering bonsai – working with trees from the wild that were born long before me and will last after I will be gone – is to be surrounded by nature, let’s you become part of it. each tree in the collection is a magic, a tree with a height of only 50-90 cm, that is capturing the essence of a REAL old tree, and he is telling the world his story.
The above pieces are only a small part from my experiences in life ( beside them – I am married, got an amazing children, work in a leading hi-tech company,..) but for me they represent my own personal path which is what I have to offer to the world – in my case :
I was given the ability to be aware of a complex world/system/organization, and be able to understand his essence, the very core and fundamental basics, accompanies with the ability to transfer this experience/knowledge to other people, to make a change in the life of people around me ( my parents, my wife, my children, my employees, my boss, my customers,..) in 2 ways :
- it is changing me, I am becoming aware to all the good that surrounds me, I am enjoying even from the simplest things ( a new bud in a tree in the spring, a hug from my children,..)
- I get insights that I’m using to help people understand and solve challenges in their life
So, what is the meaning of life ?
To me, the meaning of life is to live your path.
Doesn’t matter how long you will live…
Doesn’t matter what achievements you’ve accomplished…
Doesn’t matter if you will be remembered…
When you live your path, you become more then yourself, you become a link in a chain, you get energy from others, and you channel it to others – you loose yourself and become life itself.
Life in Tao 