Do we ever contemplate life? So many people don’t. They live life in a day-to-day shallowness that results in a boring monotony.
This is our transitory existence, which will one day be gone. We live and often never acknowledge our own mortality a concept that is so absent from our daily thoughts and conversations that it is nearly nonexistent.
Life has us following norms that prescribe our actions in order to become accepted, to succeed in a career and to find a mate. But, what if we depart from these social norms? We can break the code of conduct that keeps us all within this game. If we do, then we risk failing at our genetic aspirations: to be successful and to breed.
But if we never break our way out of these social norms, we will always be inane dull people with nothing to contribute. So we must play this game, and maybe do our best to bend the rules.
Well then, what is the meaning of life? We’ll never know. Many are faced with insecurity. People are unsure of themselves, unsure that their personalities are interesting and scared that others will find them hollow on the inside cold and rotten.
Yet, even the most unique people will become stale. They have habits and personality patterns that will repeat and grow old. There is a limit to what anyone can add to life.
Many struggle to find their way out of loneliness. But it really isn’t that simple. We have our friends and others who truly care for us. However, there is something more we are searching for. Is it a mate or an ever-lasting companion? A purpose in life? These are all goals in our effort to attain lasting happiness.
Everything we do, and every action we take, is aimed at reaching this elusive concept. Parties, although entertaining, are the thinly veiled and often botched facilitators for two people to meet. Our careers provide us fulfillment and the feeling that we have accomplished something worthwhile. Each event is designed to help us find satisfaction.
Yet it may be that the actions we take in our lives are simply distractions from our fears to prevent us from realizing that, without what we do in our lives, we are but one step from the void of meaninglessness and know not which way to go.
However, these cynical thoughts serve no purpose to make life better. So you might as well just delude yourself with religion or sequester such thoughts away. In the meanwhile, there’s no use fretting over things you cannot control. Enjoy life in whatever manner suits your definition of good. Don’t worry, be happy!
While philosophical contemplation is the means to recognizing one’s problems, it does not lead one to know the answers to these questions. That is not the realm of my knowledge. It is here that I will leave you with a quote from the all wise Monty Python:
‘Always look on the bright side of life! If life seems jolly rotten, there’s something you’ve forgotten! And that’s to laugh and smile and dance and sing.”
Otis is a member of
the class of 2011.
