When this subject came across my desk, it made me pause. See, we get to pick what subjects we want to write about. This one was a topic that intimidated me. Why? Because the question, what is the point of life, is one that we all ask ourselves periodically.
It doesn’t matter if times are good, or not so good, we all ask what on earth *no pun intended* we are doing here. Is it all just some cosmic joke? Is there a big man upstairs calling the shots? And why do we have to suffer to get to… well, what? What is it that is at the end of this journey?
What is the point of life? No one really has the answers
The reason I hesitated accepting this subject is that I don’t have the answers. I can’t tell anyone what is the point of life because I don’t know myself some days. When my husband had cancer, and I watched him, at the age of 33, dwindle away to nothing, literally, I asked myself daily, what is the purpose?
I saw the man I loved reduced from a six-and-a-half-foot man with a life and a spirit that never stopped, reduced to a man who weighed less than our twelve-year-old. He no longer knew who he was or who anyone around him was. It started to shatter my faith that this life is about anything but a cruel joke with no punch line.
Since then, I wavered in my faith in myself, in humanity, and in my ability to see the good shining through. But, then I think back to those small moments I had with my husband. Like an imprint on my head and in my heart, the small moments never leave me.
10 things I do know about life
I believe we are all searching for the wrong thing. The reason that it is so hard to find out what the point of life is because we all look for the grand scheme reason why we are here and not looking where we should.
It isn’t the big boom where meaning is found, it is in the incremental things around us that we live through, we survive, we love, we laugh about, we feel, we accomplish, and we relish in. The point of life is that it is to be lived, without fear, without constantly looking for something to make it all make sense. It will never make sense.
Life is a series of trials, tribulations, and connections that make the sum. But, it also is about what you make it, not what it makes you. Stop trying so hard to find out what the point is and maybe, just maybe, enjoy the ride.
I am no expert on life, trust me. I have gone to therapy to seek solace, I have gone to priests to inquire what it is all about and have gotten nowhere. But this is what I know.
#1 The small things that mean the world. Sometimes we so focus on “the prize” that comes at the end of something that we don’t see the smaller prizes along the way that mean the most.
Like a road trip where you just try to get to a destination. If you don’t stop and look around, you aren’t living the trip, you are just trying to get to the end. That is the way life is. It isn’t about the meaning at the end, it is the meaning that we find every day along the way.
#2 The connections we make. Life is about the connections we make while we are here and the imprint we make on those around us. My husband is no longer here, but his spirit forever lives on because of the people he touched while he was on this earth.
#3 Love and being loved. If there is one thing that I do know is that life is about love. The reason that we love is that is what we are here for. The love of a mother to a child, a husband to a spouse, or a friend to a friend, is the point of life. For without love, there is nothing, and I truly mean nothing.
#4 Not being afraid. The point of life is letting go of fear. Think about how freeing life would be if there was no such thing as fear. If we weren’t afraid to make someone mad, to fail, to not be liked, or one of the other hundred fears that we all carry, then we would live life to the fullest. What is the point of life?
#5 To learn lessons. We are all here to learn lessons. Think about how many things you have learned since you were born. Not just the alphabet or counting, but the many life lessons that you learned.
My mother has a belief that you are sent to earth to learn a major lesson that is individual to every soul. We are all here to learn something and maybe, just maybe, our journey is an attempt for our spirit to learn what it was sent here to discover. But, that is just what some people believe.
#6 To find out who we really are and who we want to be. I think the point of life is discovering not just who you really are, but who you want to be. We all spend time analyzing who we are, whether we are our best selves and who we want to be.
#7 To live in the moment. Life is about living in the moment and focusing on what is around. Stop trying to find the grand things and look closely at the things around you.
Often, we put off life waiting for the perfect time to live. Like not taking time off work and thinking that once you make it to the corner office, you will.
#8 To learn what is important and what is not. The point of life is to learn what is important. Over time you start to see that having a new car might not be the end all be all, spending time with your aging grandparent means much more.
Learning what is real and what is artificial is what we all search to find. There are things important in life and things that aren’t. Your job is to figure out for yourself which is which.
#9 To stop trying to control the universe and just roll with it. The point of life is to stop trying to control everything and just go with it. You aren’t at the helm of the ship, so stop thinking that you should be in control and responsible for everything.
#10 To love large, laugh loud, and live life like it is your last day, every day. Enough said. What the point of life is, is something that we won’t know until the ride is over, if ever. When we spend so much time trying to figure it out, we aren’t living in the moment or recognizing that there just might not be a “grand scheme” or point.
