My Quest For The Meaning Of Life

Record 1: Why

I am on a quest for the meaning of life. This may make people uncomfortable as, in looking for meaning, we must consider ending, and people as a majority have a fear of death. To be afraid of demise is in short; irrational, as it is inevitable and essentially pars vitae (part of life). Yet, we have this impulse as a community to avoid the completed questions. We all have different reasons for this aversion. Some believe God will take care of it. Others figure, what's inevitable isn't worth learning the answer to. My friend bestowed upon me the alarming conclusion she had come to that, life has no meaning. Perhaps she is right, but isn't that rather discouraging? People who believe in Heaven look at life as a preparation. When you look at your life, all you can recognize as a consistency is preparation. When we are young we are blessed with innocence and being oblivious to the consequences of actions. As we age though we begin to prepare. But for what? Kindergarten prepares us for responsibility. Middle school prepares us for relationships. High school prepares us for college, which in turn, prepares us for our seemingly vast future. But is it really vast? We go to college and get a job, which prepares us for financial debacles. Perhaps we start a family, and now we are helping to prepare our children for this obvious cycle. And then we work, and work, and prepare for our retirements, at which point we begin to prepare for the end. Is that really how we want to live? It may be strange to think about, but what if there is nothing more? What if all this preparation, and worrying about the afterlife is for naught? Because of this unclarity and my own unwillingness to live life wondering and not searching, I set off on my quest for the meaning of life.