The Meaning of Life … my take on it!

I’m getting old now, and as frightening as the thought may be, I’m considered by most around me as “elderly”. I guess the only saving grace is that at last I have some free time on my hands - time enough to ponder the true meaning of life.?

To a non-scientific type like me who hasn’t dabbled in quantum physics, and has never undertaken formal biological, ecological, environmental, or theological studies, this has proven to be something of an awakening. It might even be a bit of a revelation for you too … so, through the eyes of a simple layman, here are my thoughts on it.

It seems that there are two aspects which we need to consider – the physical (the bodily stuff that we think we know a bit about), and the spiritual (the mind stuff that we don’t quite understand, and perhaps aren’t really meant to know). Let's start with the anatomy:

The Physical Stuff

Like every other member of the animal kingdom, we emerge from a fertilised egg in the form of a body. This body of ours is genetically unique; from skin, to hair, to eyes, we come in different colours (we loosely call this “race”); we come with different appendages (we loosely call this “gender”); we come in different shapes and sizes, endowed with different physical capabilities (anything abnormal, we loosely call this “disability”).

So, whether we like it or not, we are not born equal. This invites us to discriminate, but we’ll come back to that later!

Along the way, we sustain this body of ours by breathing in oxygen from the air, then discharge it back into the atmosphere as either carbon dioxide or methane gas; we fuel it with energy by eating plant life or our fellow animals, and hand it back to earth as faeces; we nourish it by drinking various natural or home-brew liquids, then expel it as urine.

This process is common to us all, and is the one (yes, perhaps only) characteristic which cannot be discriminated - the ultimate equaliser. It's not a pretty cycle is it?

Meanwhile, we keep this body of ours fit (or not) with physical activity until accident, illness, self-destruction, third-party extinction, or natural decay kills it and converts it back to earth, wind, or fire … ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

It is obvious then, that in the physical context, we all enjoy the same beginning, and we are all destined to ultimately face the same end. Unless we make something worthwhile of the journey in between, it all seems like a rather pointless exercise … and, as to whether or not we ever get another chance in a new body, we can only speculate. We simply don’t know about this reincarnation thing do we?

The Spiritual Stuff

But the mental, or spiritual side, is a different ballgame - hence the question of "mind over matter". Within that body of ours is a brain, a sloppy mass of grey gel. Doesn’t look too impressive, but it surely must contain some amazing software. Again, we are given a reason to discriminate, because it is obvious that no two brains are allocated the same cognitive capacity or are wired the same way. Each is genetically unique, and we can only guess at who or what programmed it in the first place.

The only two things we can be absolutely sure about, is that Steve Jobs didn’t build it, and Bill Gates didn’t code it. But the simple computer analogy may help with the understanding, so let’s stick with it!

Along the way, we expose this brain of ours to a thing called experience, supplemented with various degrees of formal learning. Using all of our five external senses (if we are lucky enough not to have any of them impaired), the conscious brain (let’s call this the application software) takes it all in and passes it down into a massive storage/retrieval vault known as the subconscious brain (let’s call this the operational software).

The subconscious mind is a marvel. Apart from automatically controlling all our motor skills and functions (like keeping us breathing while we sleep), it even maintains our immune system, an army of little soldiers called T-cells who defend our body against infectious intruders. It also controls our belief system, so whatever is fed into this vault will forever stimulate or dampen our positivity, arm or disarm our physical and mental immune system, determine our likes and dislikes, harbour our prejudices, and maintain our faith. So, on a day-to-day basis, it regulates our behaviour.

In our journey through life, particularly influenced in our early formative years, this subconscious mind is exposed to a massive volume of information, the difference in environment and human interaction seeing us each emerge with a different spiritual outlook. Combined with the differing capacities of each individual subconscious brain (to filter, absorb, evaluate, differentiate, and ultimately retrieve it), this massive intake of information sees us all adopting varying sets of values.

From the cocoon of our everyday habitat, many of us will never get to actually see how the other half lives, to experience the extremes of poverty and hardship on the one hand, or the prosperity and abundance on the other. Even so, irrespective of whether we belong with the "haves" or the "have-nots", it seems we all suffer the feeling of deprivation from time to time …we want what we don’t have, crave what we feel we cannot get, and agonise over what we have lost.

This is where we must draw on our reserves of empathy … to not only understand - as best we can - the wants, needs, and aspirations of others, but to appreciate how they might just differ from our own. Perhaps we need to consider this when we take time out to take stock of our personal values, when we pause to seriously contemplate our real purpose in life.

Strangely enough, out of this meditative mist, a common guideline always emerges!

Yes, irrespective of religious denomination, and whether or not we consider ourselves a ‘worshipping’ person, it seems that most decent human beings on this earth have some faith in the “do unto others” creed, realising that we are merely a microbe within an endless vacuum of time and space … and that there is little more we can do with this life of ours but to live in harmony - to accept an overriding responsibility to contribute to a meaningful and respectful existence with those around us.

Sure, during our lifetime, some of us will create art, some will create literature, some will create music, some will set records, some will achieve greatness. However, for the vast majority of us, our only worthwhile legacy will be the comfort of knowing that we will be remembered for having done the best we could for those we could. Ironically, this has been the singular dying wish of so many!

That brings us around the full circle and back to the issue of discrimination - my final contribution (the appendix if you like), to this “meaning of life” dissertation of mine. As I step up onto my soapbox, here goes:

The True meaning

OK, we know that every living creature on this planet is unique, that each of us is born with an individual combination of genetics. We also know that along the way, this difference is extenuated by environment, exposure, and experience. It’s a fact of life!

As (arguably) the most intelligent of the species, the average human being is therefore able to distinguish this. We have learned to recognise the obvious differences - to appreciate and respect them. In most aspects of our everyday life, we have even learned to accommodate the more subtle differences, to adjust to them, and to cater for them. Instinctively, we enjoy many of them - even celebrate them.

Yes, from the commercial world of marketing demographics to the very private world of love, romance, and partnering, we are forever discriminating - quite intentionally, and hopefully for all the right reasons.?

So … it is patently obvious that not all discrimination is necessarily evil; it is indeed an essential ingredient in the recipe for life. Why then, do we have to contend with today’s frenetic wave of single-minded anti-discrimination protest, and ill-directed Political Correctness?

Perhaps the real cause has simply been lost in the wording itself. Maybe these fervent activists have pedantically labelled all forms of ‘discrimination’ as bad, lumped them into the same basket, and got it all confused with the genuine real-world concern of ‘inequality’ - the multi-faceted oppression of our human rights to equal voice and equal opportunity.

So, let’s forget this “discrimination” nonsense and talk up the need for “equality”!

There is absolutely no way that, in this evolved (first, second, or third) world of ours, we are all born equal, and we are certainly not exposed to equal surroundings and circumstances … but we certainly deserve to be treated equally. Irrespective of race, colour, gender, spiritual denomination, size, shape, or disability, we are all entitled to respect.

No, it is not just about race, and no, it is not about gender … the quality of every life on this planet matters!

Surely it is time now, when together we must endure the pain of this life-changing Covid-19 disaster, to take the opportunity to desist with this lawlessness - this rebellious “anarchy”. Let’s put aside all the conspiracy theories and hate-filled prejudice. Instead, let’s use that energy to show some heart-felt compassion and to provide some much-needed support for everyone who just happens to be sharing the discomfort and uncertainty that this fragile world is throwing up at us right now!

Let’s just accept the good discrimination, abandon the bad discrimination, and do whatever we can to close the gap on this wretched inequality which is rapidly engulfing every corner of this planet. Surely, that is the true meaning of life!

About the writer:?

Keith Rowe is the author of a series of books, particularly focused on the preservation of our interpersonal skills. His latest, written since the original publication of this article - "Interpersonality"?- has just been released in September 2022 in both eBook and paperback formats on Amazon.

www.amazon.com/author/keithrowe