★Meaning is Bound to Consciousness.

If a tree falls and no one is around to hear it does life have a meaning?

You may ask yourself, “How did I get here”! Letting the days go by.

What the heck are you talking about!

“Does life have meaning” is a pretty old question. Many folks say it doesn’t. I think those folks are kidding themselves. Life has meaning both collectively and individually. We influence its meaning. I can understand why some people might believe that life has no meaning, but, I believe, if you really think about the question that the answer becomes apparent. We, conscious beings, GIVE meaning to life. Our consciousness is both meaning itself and the creator OF meaning. A person who asks, or questions whether or not life has meaning only need ponder his own question to find the answer. Once we see the obvious, we can’t unsee it. Just like a tree falling in the woods, it makes sound whether or not we are there to hear it, the sound is there just like the meaning of life is there. The sound of the tree is there even if we aren’t there to hear it and the meaning of life is there even if we don’t acknowledge it. If you lose a loved one, there is feeling. THAT is meaning. If you see beauty. THAT IS meaning. Even hopelessness is meaning. Or anger. If life had no meaning, there would be no fear or worry in the world. There wouldn’t be happiness or joy either. I think it is good to know that both individually and collectively we give meaning to existence. Consciousness and meaning are bound together as one and we, as individuals and as a collective, create the meaning of life.

very-centering feeling I get…from your thread

wonderful thoughts!

that’s a joyous kind of a pattern of yours(:

I love this: We, conscious beings, GIVE meaning to life.
Our consciousness is both meaning itself and the creator OF meaning.

I love all of your examples…

and…

Consciousness and meaning are bound together as one and we, as individuals and as a collective, create the meaning of life.

quite powerful way of articulating this & powerful focus!

Thank you. Sometimes I write things and I think “wow, they are going to think I’m crazy”.

Here is another thing I want to say regarding “meaning of/in life”. I think that a lot of people, at least with regard to how I think about “the meaning of life”, I think a lot of people think “being happy” is “the” “meaning of life”. I don’t think that. Certainly “being happy” is an important thing, but, “the meaning of life” is much bigger than just “being happy”. I am going to make what might be a bad analogy, but, you’ll see what I mean probably. If “the meaning of life” were a big bowl, then in that bowl you would have a bunch of rubber ducks floating around and each of those ducks would be a different aspect of the meaning of life. One duck would be labelled “being happy”, but, another would be “being sad”, another would be “fear”, another, “feeling love”…, all of those things are part of what makes up “the meaning of life.

Being happy, while certainly something of great value, is just one of the many things that comprise the meaning of life. The other things have value too. Even the bad things are of value. The hardest one that comes to my mind for understanding is cruelty. Another bad one that is hard to understand is corruption. There is something even to learn from those things.

Now, I want to mention “virtues”. You don’t hear people talk about virtues these days, but, virtues are closely tied to living a worthwhile life. I would very much like to have a discussion about what virtues are and what they mean for us.

In response to Smart_Routines_With_Enthusiasm’s post: a quote I had in my storage places-‘stuff’ (:

• * For the meaning of life differs from man to man, from day to day and from hour to hour. What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general but rather the specific meaning of a person’s life at a given moment. Viktor E. Frankl

In response to Smart_Routines_With_Enthusiasm’s post:
please continue-virtues-discussion… I too would love to join in(:

[added quote day later]

In response to Smart_Routines_With_Enthusiasm’s post:
another quote which relates to the topic

If the individual realizes his self by spontaneous activity and thus relates himself to the world, he ceases to be an isolated atom; he and the world become part of one structuralized whole. He is aware of himself as an active and creative individual and recognizes that there is only one meaning of life: the act of living itself…Positive freedom as the realization of the self implies the full affirmation of the uniqueness of the individual.” _{Erich Fromm, Escape From Freedom, (pp.261-263) New York: Rinehart & Co.,1941}

The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves ~ Alan Watts

great thread SRWE, looking forward to returning!