The meaning of life

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What is the meaning of life? It’s the age-old question. People say that nobody knows the answer, or that you don’t know until you come to the end of it, but I think that we do know, and the answer is staring us in the face.

Now, it depends on how you look at the question. I’m not talking about the meaning of all life, of life on Earth; how and why we came to be. I don’t want to get that deep into it on a Monday. But, the meaning of my life is something that I know unequivocally. And while for each person the meaning is unique to them, it all comes down to the same thing: love.

I’m not just talking about romance here so don’t start spewing just yet. Love runs through everything and can encompass the deep and emotional side of us, but it also runs through the more frivolous side of human nature.

Love is the meaning of my life; it’s the reason I’m here, the reason I get up every morning, and the reason why, for the most part, I’m happy. It’s the reason I live, breathe and keep driving forward every single day, and really, nothing else matters.

The meaning of one’s life is personal to them, but it all stems from love. Whether it’s the love for your partner and your plans for your future; the love for your parents or any other members of your family; the love for your children, and their future and wellbeing; love for your friends and the memories you make together; the love of your craft, your passion in life (for me, this is stories – writing, reading, sharing, hearing and reading them); the love of the small things that make you happy, such as long walks, music, good food, a sports team that you support, or movies; the love of nature and the world around you; or even the love for a pet. All the things that give our lives meaning, that excite us and connect us to everything around us, all have a common denominator.

So, what is the meaning of your life? What or who do you love? The fact is, we’re tiny little organisms living on a relatively miniscule ball of rock, orbiting a star in the infinity of space. You could argue that we’re too small to have any significance. But we’re not. To us, our lives are huge. We grieve and hold ceremonies when one of us dies. We celebrate significant milestones with each other and some of us spend our lives helping other people find the best way to live theirs. Being small does not equate to insignificance. While what one human being does on this planet has zero effect on the universe, it may hugely impact the lives of hundreds or thousands of millions of people, or it may only impact the life of one other – either way, it is no small thing.

Really, the meaning of life is not actually important. Once you know what it is you love, which is something we all already know, and you use those things to drive you, then you already have it figured it out. Then, we realise that all our decisions, all our actions, should come from a place of love. With each hard decision, each gut-wrenching trial, each thing that you have to do or choose or act upon, ask yourself, am I doing this out of love or is it coming from a bad place, such as out of hate or fear? If you always choose the path that comes from love then you can continue on your way knowing that you’re on the right path, and that’s the best that any of us can do. All that is left to do then, is live.

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