Monday, February 13, 2006

C'EST LA VIE.

Ah yes, a post that actually reflects the name of this blog!

Do you ever wonder what the purpose of life is? What are we truly here for? At most, we’re given about eighty years (give or take) to accomplish certain tasks, and then we pass on to eternal rest, another dimension, reincarnation, or heaven/hell. Do you ever become aware of your magnificent miraculous existence, only to have it shattered by the realization of your certain aging and death?

Whatever your beliefs are, here we are, in this, the supposed third dimension. Breathing, walking, talking, doing our jobs, going to school, enjoying leisure time--that is, if you’re in the developed world. Others struggle tremendously to make ends meet, just to put food on the table or to have adequate clothing and shelter. So many alive today are poorer than we can possibly imagine.

Some of us come here to fulfill every possible dream, to become an entertainer, to serve others, to make a name for ourselves, or just to cruise on by with as little name recognition as possible. There are those whose actual purpose is to destroy, hurt, and cause mayhem. Certain people come to only suffer it seems, to be true martyrs, to inspire revolutions, changes, and to alter the course of history.

Albert Camus, the great French Nobel-prize winning author believed that life has its happy moments, but that they were merely temporary and that life is in the end meaningless due to our eventual deaths. Another French Nobel Prize winner, Jean- Paul Sartre claimed that humans were constantly trying to define their true roles in this most absurd world. Spanish philosopher José Ortega Y Gasset wrote extensive essays on the meaning of life too, contributing greatly to the theory of existentialism.

Is there a God after all? Or have we created this idea to appease our ultimate fear that we are alone in the end? It is hard at times to believe that all this incredible biodiversity came out of nowhere with no one to create it, that it merely just appeared, all in perfect order through the magic of evolution.

No one it seems, has ever been able to fully explain what the point of our existence really is. Perhaps there is no point, and we desperately try to waste away some time before we die, summed up best by the all-American catch phrase:

"Life’s a bitch, and then you die."

5 comments:

G-Man said...

The meaning of life is the meaning you give it. The meaning that you bring to every moment, no matter how great or small. That is the only way greatest can be achieved.

Great post!!!!

(and thanks for the Netflix advice!)

Troy said...

The purpose of life is: BEER & PUSSY. (enuf said)

Anonymous said...

I read this at 5:30 am. What a way to start the morning. The only purpose I have at that time is to intake as much coffee as possible to motivate myself to get out and run. At the moment, the meaning of life is defined by speed work on the track. Philosophical discussions are a much more evening thing, over a martini, at a quaint little hang out, with interesting people. What inspired you in this line of thought today?

Gavin Elster said...

Bill G is right. Beer and Pussy. It says so in the bible. I just looked it up.

Why are you fussin bout this? Whats really going on?

Anonymous said...

I am completely agnostic when it comes to those issues. Maybe I should wonder, ask myself those fundamental questions. I think I will actually do it when I am older, once I am somehow forced to confront these issues. Now I just want to feel good, you know, or, rephrasing it, try not to feel as bad.