Great literature transcends time because of its inherent qualities: the author has a clear purpose, the author achieves that purpose, and the purpose is a worthwhile one.
Monday
Discussion Topic #3
In 100 proofed words help the class with our quest for meaning by providing some advice about how to construct a worthwhile existence. You may use outside sources to support assertions.
Seldom do we view life as enough in itself. Instead we ask religion, philosophy, and even astrology to help us find a “meaning”. For no real reason at all we are led to believe that the answer is somewhere “out there”, never within ourselves. Don’t deceive yourself. The only thing you can know exists is your own mind. Not even your body is a guarantee. Therefore your only meaning in life is to exist and place your own interests ahead of others. Most people would say you’re selfish, but they might not even exist, so who cares?
Once I thought the purpose of life was to affect as many people as possible in order to change the world. How thoughtless I was! I don’t agree with Mike that legacies are impossible, but I do assert that they are worthless. Epicurius said to “eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we shall die.” Call me cynical, but life is meant to be taken advantage of, to be grabbed by the horns and manipulated for our personal benefit! Who needs to be munificent and heartfelt when the single most important entity of existence is ourselves? In the end, all that matters is how much we obtained from the environment in which we existed. Helping others takes away time from helping ourselves.
We can’t sit around waiting until we’re about to die to discover what gave our lives meaning. Trying to enjoy life is what gives life meaning, to me anyway. One should enjoy whatever they spend their life doing, and not get too caught up with trying to please others. An existence like that would certainly become one of unhappiness and without self-satisfaction. As Morrissey once questioned, “Oh, why do I give valuable time to people who don't care if I live or die?” No matter how much we try to deny it, humans are inherently selfish. Why waste time on others when they wouldn’t do the same for you? Live for you.
Although the meaning of life is defined differently by every individual, I believe there is one common force that drives us all: the search for happiness. From conception to death we all strive for what makes us satisfied with our lives, whether on a subconscious level or not. The decisions we make are the result of our desire to be content at the close of each day. These desires, however, vary immensely depending on ones culture, moral values, and beliefs. At the end of the day though, when the purpose of an individuals life is sought, one single motivation is clear: happiness.
But Brian, you have to think about why those kinds of relationships give us satisfaction. Would you value a relationship with a parent who abused you? Would you value a marriage in which your wife cheated on you? No. We value those kinds of relationships because they make us feel better about ourselves. There must be something about us that makes people love us and want to care for us, or that is how we perceive it. The reason these relationships are important to us is because they serve as a confirmation, fortifying our belief that we have worth as a person. For some that need is filled in other ways: trying to become famous, or infamous, being charitable, attaining power. All merely for the feeling of self-worth, feeling as if one is a valuable enough human being to matter.
What defines a meaningful life? While it seems that a meaningful life could only come from one’s realization of what is of significance to him, it seems that humans as a species derive meaning from their meaning to each other. On the other hand, how could people actually mean something to one another if most people cannot even understand themselves? The most significant part of having a meaningful life is learning that while you will meet many people along the way, you are in control of your own destiny, and whether it is meaningful or not is entirely within your grasp.
Here you stand stranded among 6,000,000,000 souls beside your tumid river; here, twice as many people as there are likely to be seconds in your lifetime. They are extras in your life’s story but not upon the world’s stage. They expend their lives’ loving and hating, despairing and dreaming, wishing and wondering with or without you. Ashes to ashes. Dust to Dust. Do not measure your worth by their discernment. Make the best of your existence. It is your own. Fill your unforgiving minutes with sixty seconds worth of distance run, and always keep your humility, your generosity, your love and curiosity near at heart.
In order for life to have any meaning, life should be spent having fun. We have about 90 years to live it up, why not spend every waking minute doing just that. If you want to be rich, so you can spend the money when you get older, do all you can to reach that goal. Goals are essential to the madness of life. Setting goals gives life a schedule and some people may require that to reach their goals. People work hard to accomplish their goals because that is what they want to do.
9 comments:
Seldom do we view life as enough in itself. Instead we ask religion, philosophy, and even astrology to help us find a “meaning”. For no real reason at all we are led to believe that the answer is somewhere “out there”, never within ourselves. Don’t deceive yourself. The only thing you can know exists is your own mind. Not even your body is a guarantee. Therefore your only meaning in life is to exist and place your own interests ahead of others. Most people would say you’re selfish, but they might not even exist, so who cares?
Laura and Erika make valid points. Because people are so different and experience such different
paths, it is impossible to define a universal reason for waking up each day. Reverend Roger
Fritts, a renowned Maryland cleric, suggests, “Every moment is a sacred moment. If we do not
feel this, it is because petty distractions engage us.” Not only is the “life is full of distractions”
cliché is overused, but what is a distraction? Is school a distraction? Is work a distraction?
Perhaps these arduous tasks prevent one from achieving happiness constantly, but times of
hardship are necessary in appreciating life’s rosier moments. Thus, for at least a greater meaning,
one must look at life as whole, relishing in the joy to the fullest extent, while appreciating the
difficult for what it represents.
Once I thought the purpose of life was to affect as many people as possible in order to change the world. How thoughtless I was! I don’t agree with Mike that legacies are impossible, but I do assert that they are worthless. Epicurius said to “eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we shall die.” Call me cynical, but life is meant to be taken advantage of, to be grabbed by the horns and manipulated for our personal benefit! Who needs to be munificent and heartfelt when the single most important entity of existence is ourselves? In the end, all that matters is how much we obtained from the environment in which we existed. Helping others takes away time from helping ourselves.
My Philosophy (first paragraph about sums it up)
Becky Gessler
We can’t sit around waiting until we’re about to die to discover what gave our lives meaning. Trying to enjoy life is what gives life meaning, to me anyway. One should enjoy whatever they spend their life doing, and not get too caught up with trying to please others. An existence like that would certainly become one of unhappiness and without self-satisfaction. As Morrissey once questioned, “Oh, why do I give valuable time to people who don't care if I live or die?” No matter how much we try to deny it, humans are inherently selfish. Why waste time on others when they wouldn’t do the same for you? Live for you.
Although the meaning of life is defined differently by every individual, I believe there is one common force that drives us all: the search for happiness. From conception to death we all strive for what makes us satisfied with our lives, whether on a subconscious level or not. The decisions we make are the result of our desire to be content at the close of each day. These desires, however, vary immensely depending on ones culture, moral values, and beliefs. At the end of the day though, when the purpose of an individuals life is sought, one single motivation is clear: happiness.
But Brian, you have to think about why those kinds of relationships give us satisfaction. Would you value a relationship with a parent who abused you? Would you value a marriage in which your wife cheated on you? No. We value those kinds of relationships because they make us feel better about ourselves. There must be something about us that makes people love us and want to care for us, or that is how we perceive it. The reason these relationships are important to us is because they serve as a confirmation, fortifying our belief that we have worth as a person. For some that need is filled in other ways: trying to become famous, or infamous, being charitable, attaining power. All merely for the feeling of self-worth, feeling as if one is a valuable enough human being to matter.
What defines a meaningful life? While it seems that a meaningful life could only come from one’s realization of what is of significance to him, it seems that humans as a species derive meaning from their meaning to each other. On the other hand, how could people actually mean something to one another if most people cannot even understand themselves? The most significant part of having a meaningful life is learning that while you will meet many people along the way, you are in control of your own destiny, and whether it is meaningful or not is entirely within your grasp.
Here you stand stranded among 6,000,000,000 souls beside your tumid river;
here, twice as many people as there are likely to be seconds in your lifetime.
They are extras in your life’s story
but not upon the world’s stage.
They expend their lives’
loving and hating, despairing and dreaming, wishing and wondering
with or without you.
Ashes to ashes. Dust to Dust.
Do not measure your worth by their discernment.
Make the best of your existence.
It is your own.
Fill your unforgiving minutes with sixty seconds worth of distance run, and
always keep your humility, your generosity,
your love and curiosity
near at heart.
In order for life to have any meaning, life should be spent having fun. We have about 90 years to live it up, why not spend every waking minute doing just that. If you want to be rich, so you can spend the money when you get older, do all you can to reach that goal. Goals are essential to the madness of life. Setting goals gives life a schedule and some people may require that to reach their goals. People work hard to accomplish their goals because that is what they want to do.
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