The Meaning of Life

Since the beginning of civilizations, humans have been searching for the ultimate meaning of life. Despite thousands of confident religions that claimed to have found it, not a single explanation that is self-evident, one that could provide a satisfying answer applicable to everyone. 

Yet people continue to live their lives and few people are willing to quit their lives even though they know what they do are eventually meaningless, even for most of the non-religious people in China, Japan and Europe. For many, life is an open-ended game. How you play it, and what it means, is eventually up to you.

Some people live their lives fulfilling their religious need. They love their Gods, share their faith with others, and live righteous lives to achieve salvation.

Some people live their lives pursuing pleasure and avoiding the unpleasant. They live to eat. They may pursue other goals, but those pursuits are means to the ultimate goal of enriching their senses by living as luxuriously as they can and doing whatever that makes them happy. Some love to travel. Some play computer games. Some collect stamps.

Some people live their lives helping others. They find pleasure in making other people happier. They believe they should leave the world a better place than they came into.

Some people live their lives advancing the human civilization. They see the people of the world as one species, and find ways to contribute to preparing the human civilization to venture into the space and find its place in the cosmos. Perhaps we may find clues to the meaning of life among the stars.

Some people live their lives loving someone very special to them – parents, lover, spouse or children. They would do anything to ensure the welfare of their loved ones, including sacrificing their lives if they have to.

Some people live their lives overcoming life challenges. They see life as a test – a journey full of obstacles. After overcoming one obstacle, they look forward to the next. Like a game or sport when winning is ultimately meaningless, they find joys and satisfaction overcoming these obstacles. Like mountain climbers who trained hard to scale the highest and most dangerous peaks, success is a celebration of their abilities.

Some people live their lives competing with others. Although life is meaningless, they would still want to have a better and more successful life than most. They want to be good at something. Mediocrity is something they fear.

Some people live their lives wanting to achieve immortality. They may not seek eternal life, but they wish to leave their mark to the world so that they continue to live in the memories of others, or in textbooks.

Some people live their lives as artistic pursuits. They see their lives as something they can decorate. They philosophize what their lives should be like, what possessions they should have, and how they should conduct or present themselves to others. They usually have strong life principles.

Some people live their lives as if they are protagonists in movies. They would choose life paths based on which would make a more interesting story. Adventure is what they seek. Routine and mundane life is what they avoid. They want their biography to be rich of fascinating and emotional tales, hopefully with a heart-warming ending.

Some people live their lives experiencing as much as possible. Like tourists, they want to do, see and eat everything that the place has to offer. Also like an android who wants to know what it is like to be human, they wouldn’t mind going through negative emotions of pain, sorrow, rejection, loss or envy, just to feel what it is like. They live their lives to the fullest.
 

Most of the self-defined purposes of life listed above do overlap one another. It is possible for one to have more than one purpose of life, which may change as their lives progress. However their main purpose of life would reveal itself when their lives came into major turning points - when they have to choose one over the other.

And ultimately, it is the one that would bring the most long-term happiness and life satisfaction. This is the absolute purpose of life. The list above was only the means of achieving it.