Thinking About: The Meaning of Life

Those of you who have been reading this Blog for a while now will be aware that, as far as I know, there is no greater meaning to our lives over and above the one(s) we give it. In effect I’m saying that certainly from the Christian point of view that I hold life to be essentially meaningless. The trick, if I want to use such a word in this context, is what we should do about it. How should we respond to life’s inherent lack of meaning?

As I’ve mentioned in other posts you could always invent a meaning or adopt someone else’s. That’s what most people do. Most people adopt the meaning prevalent in the culture they accidently happen to have been born into – normally called religion. Others discover (or invent) their own meaning like climbing mountains or being the best kazoo player in the world. Some of these people go on to achieve amazing things.

But what if you really believe that life is without meaning? Then what? The danger of this belief is that it’s entirely possible to fall into total despair and basically give up – sometimes followed by suicide. It’s certainly a valid answer to the problem and a permanent one. Alternatively you could 'live' feeling dead inside and responding to life with neither pleasure nor pain, though this sounds rather dull. The classic way to respond to a meaningless life is the well worn track of hedonism – living for pleasure. I’ve known a few wannabe hedonists in my time who expended lots of energy on finding the next high or sleeping with the next girl. Funnily none of them seemed very happy for very long. This was, I believe, because they made the fundamental error of equating pleasure with happiness. Some of them never learnt that they are not the same thing. The problem with all external pleasures is that they’re dependent on other people or other things over which you have little or no control. Being dependent on these things – especially when you crave them – is a recipe for unhappiness rather than the reverse.

I did come across an interesting solution recently which appeared to offer a way of life for those who fail to see any meaning in existence. A response to the challenge of nihilism designed for people who accept the fact that life can be, by its very nature, deeply absurd. That response is heroism. By that I don’t mean going around rushing into burning buildings saving kittens or throwing yourself on grenades in Afghanistan to save the lives of your team mates. I mean recognising that life is indeed meaningless on any level and still living it to the best of your ability – with a real and sincere smile on your face. To laugh in the face of adversity and death knowing in your bones that it doesn’t matter what you do but you continue to do it anyway and to see the absurd in everything around you and respond with humour because that is the only rational response to such an impossibly ridiculous situation. I obviously need to think and read more on the subject but I think I’ve found a trail worth investigating. I will of course let you know what I find on my travels. If you see someone whistling through adversity with a grin on their face it’ll probably be me – so say hello.