The Meaning of Life
There is no question as complicated as what the meaning of life is. The meaning of life is as diverse as there are individual personalities in the world. Life is unique to everyone, and has complex various dynamics; therefore there is no particular explanation for the meaning of life rather everyone finds meaning in their lives depending on their personal experiences. More importantly their general approach towards life experiences such as suffering and helplessness, determines what a person learns from these experiences. According to Victor Frankyl, an Austrian humanist, in his book Man's Search for Meaning (1946), the most important thing for an individual to express the freedom is to think independently, therefore, choosing a unique way of solving any issue (37). With this point in mind, everyone should understand that the meaning of life is unique for everyone but each individual should find it despite any challenging circumstances.
Finding Meaning in Life
A lot of people find meaning in their life, however, others do not. Finding own way does not consist in living the purpose throughout the entire life, but rather finding a sense of meaning and fulfilment that transcends normal way of existence in various situations, which are unique to everyone, such as being a selfless philanthropist or an advocate for other people's rights, practicing virtue in one's daily life, having a strong religious bearing, and looking forward to a reward in the afterlife. In such wise, a person finds the will to live for something else greater than themselves, to find deep-seated happiness in sacrificing one's own life, time, resources in the help of those who need it. A person can find meaning in a passionate dedication to his or her career and in the endeavors to be the best in that particular field in a way that is satisfying and fulfilling. For instance, in the case of a doctor, who works up to late hours for serving any extra patients because he or she finds happiness in giving such a sacrifice, or a lecturer, who delivers the best instruction to his or her students because he is passionate about what he does. Such individuals are bound to always do good deeds despite the hardships and discouragement they may encounter in the process. In a word, someone seeks to produce the version of themselves out of what they do in order to know to what lengths they can go to make other people happy and find their own happiness therein.
Personal Meaning
Personally, I find a lot of meaning in giving out myself selflessly, giving advice, arbitrating conflicts, making peace always, being moderate as well as helping others without seeking anything in return, making other people happy in the continual perfection in the practice of virtue and lifestyle to live for that ultimate goal. I find meaning in self-definition of concepts and notions depending on my personal experiences, and remaining neutral and unbiased until I find out facts in order to make a judgement call. I am passionate about helping others, who are suffering, or and in enlightening the ignorant to improve the quality of their lives. I find meaning in living to find meaning for everything that happens in my life, which has brought me to the question of the essence and meaning of the fabric of existence. Do the events in people's lives happen out of pure coincidence or are they predestined? And the answer to this critical question lies on the faith and beliefs of the person answering it, which are heavily based on personal experiences.
Serving Humanity
After reading Frankyl's book, I realized that the society really needs a fundamental change in the attitude towards life. Furthermore, people need to learn themselves and who they really are, as well as to not expect something from life, but rather to answer what life expects from them. Ultimately, whoever finds meaning for their life, only do so when they go beyond their usual and well-established being and starts to serve others in their own, thus very unique way. That is, using one's humanity for the service of humanity, even though it is to help a single person, though doing it in a way that defies the odds. The meaning of life is to give life meaning.
Works Cited
Victor Frankyl. Man’s Search for Meaning. Beacon Press, 2006.
