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The Life Problem

The Question

Sometimes I wonder why am I even alive? Why do I breathe and walk the Earth? What is my purpose here and what am I to do with my remaining time? Simply put it, what is the meaning of life?

I know this might sound a bit too existential and a bit cliche (like who hasn't have had this question before?), but it's a question worth exploring. This question might be the one question humanity will never answer; it's too vague and too confusing. There are a million answers, but what is the correct answer? Which one is the answer everyone can agree on? Is there even one? I'm not sure.

The Tragedy of Living

It's sad thing to live. You have to endure tragedy from tragedy, death from death, and grief from grief. Life isn't all wonderful. There's a lot of suffering in it. Yet, people argue life is worth living. Why is that? What masks all the sorrows in our life? Perhaps it's the big moments: a wedding day, meeting a long-lost friend, being rich enough to support your aged parents. Or, as many others argue, maybe it's the small moments: the hilarious laughter of your partner, a quiet walk through a well-laden road, or even just plain old boredom.

Is life worth living? That's a thought many suicidal people have had in their lives. I was once suicidal in my life but thankfully that part of my life is long gone. I convince myself to live, despite of the hardships I know I'll face. Why do I live? There's a quote from a light novel series I used to read. It goes:

"The world is not beautiful, therefore it is"———Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World

The saying holds meaning. Life is full of contradictions: allies at war, couples in argument, emotionally distant families. It's doesn't make sense and yet we humans understand it. We understand why we need to live. We live to enjoy. We live to be.

Possible Answers

These are a few answers to the meaning of life:

I haven't listed all the answers to this question above of course. There's too much to track. I personally am a fan of the second-last answer. I like to thing life is the sum of the smallest things, the actions and habits we take for granted. The small moments that seem to have no significance. These include: a bird singing as you walk, the way sunlight dances and peeks through moving leaves, seeing a child learn how to ride a bicycle, the way the wind blows through your clothes and rustles your hair. Other people have different opinions, of course; different environments will give birth to different ideas.

Think of classical music. Like the many different answers of the Life Problem, there exists many different forms of classical music. Sure, there's the dominant Western music, but there's also Arab music as well. Ever tried of listening to Chinse classical music? I searched it on YouTube and, God, I had never heard of some of the instruments they used. Different environments, therefore, gave birth to different forms of music from the same assembly of notes.

What I think: A Conclusion of Some Sort

The meaning of life is a question one shouldn't obsess over finding an answer. It's better to focus more on the thinking than the aim to produce an answer. Thinking about this question has made me contemplate more on my decisions. Important decisions such as which hobbies to pick, which field to study, and what type of life I want to lead. I want to live a comfortable life, one not too rich but not too poor either. Where I won't wake up to honking cars and the loud voices of pedestrians, but instead the sound of birds and whatever else sounds nice.

I've bored you, haven't I, talking again and again about life? Well, this article is named The Life Problem. What were you thinking?

That said, what can you benefit from pondering on this question? What will this question give you? How will your life change as you question its purpose?

Insignificant choices become more important. Small moments have much more weight. Moments are now imbued with an overall sense of gratefulness. One may lead a more satisfying life as one questions the meaning of one's existence. There is a subtle beauty in the art of questioning: it is the realm of philosophy, and philosophy is the bedrock of science and society. If one cannot ask why, how can one ask how?

Questioning the meaning of life is a form of living it. Don't expect answers to be handed to you on a silver platter; you must work hard to find them. Then only will the answer reveal itself to you. There's a beauty in that. In addition, don't forget to live life while you're questioning it.