The Meaning of Life
- Juliette Ries
- Jan 11, 2018
- 4 min read
What is the meaning of life? Man, I bet we all have our interpretation of that question and what we believe life is meant to be lived for. Whether you are religious or not, spiritual or not, young or old, we all have ideas about this question.
I believe life is about growth. In every aspect that you can conceivably wrap your mind around. I know there are areas we, me have yet to discover that are just out there waiting for us to figure out and work on (if you have no idea what I'm talking about, thats ok, half the time I don't either hahah). No I believe that even if you or I or we are super intelligent, that there are still some things yet to be discovered about the world and ourselves that we can't even imagine yet.
I'm going to sort of lead this topic into what I really wanted to talk about now. I wanted to give guidance about how to start living the life that you want. A lot of people (I think I say that because I am surrounded by pessimism and it literally affects my soul knowing just how some people throw their hands up and give up and I feel strongly about making life what you want it to be). Anyways, so if you are a pessimist which I can be at times too, this is for you.
Say you have this idea, goal, dream of where you want to be or go with your life but you are thinking about the entire route it would take to get there and you just get overwhelmed by fear, anger, frustration, negativity about how un-achievable that dream may be that you just give up before you even start.
Because maybe you are thinking about it this way. To get to your dream, I'll call it point "Z" you need to jump through some hoops of fire (Point H), do some backflips (Point S), learn 15 new languages (Point Y) and all this other stuff before you can get there. So re-think it. Those hoops of fire, millions of people have jumped through them, why can't you? Back flips? Maybe with some practice and help. But, no really what I'm saying is, if you are at point "A" start from point A and don't worry or create possibly misleading phobias and fears about the future points you have to achieve. Plan for the future but don't make fears for the future.
Start at A and don't even think about the rest, not even Z for a moment and think about what point B is. Whats the next step on your journey? Don't make an excuse. Don't tell me you're tired or poor. If step B requires money that you don't have, then that isn't step B. Step A might even be just about you and rethinking how you think. You might need to start with some more positivity, giving yourself some positive feedback. We spend a lot of time beating ourselves up over the stupidest things. "I'm fat, I'm ugly, I'm not enough of this or that". Try this instead, "I'm amazing" "I am smart" "I am enough" "I'm right where I need to be in this moment".
If you look at your life, how much of what you have done, decisions were made based on fear of the unknown? A lot probably. That's human. We have the ability to imagine the future, the only animals on the face of the earth with the ability to do this. But having this ability can be a downfall if what we imagine is always BAD! It's also really easy to think about all the things that "didn't work out" for us or "didn't go our way" but if you are religious or spiritual then I can guess that at some point in your life you have uttered the words "everything/things happens for a reason". Maybe some situations are too much for us to make sense of right now but maybe someday they will.
So if you have a dream I dare you to take the first step towards that dream. Whatever it may be. I challenge you to make that call, go there, look something up about it, redirect your thinking brain, do something that is a step forward and not jogging in place, or laying down if you're not even jogging yet lol.
This also is for people who are feeling stuck or lost. Don't we all feel that way sometimes? "I don't know my purpose" "What am I supposed to be?" "What career path should I take?". We believe we only have one route when in reality we have many. We have many talents or interests so why only stick with one? What do you talk about the most or do the most day to day that you really enjoy or wish you could do more often? Figuring out your passion comes from trying many different things. Start somewhere and see where it takes you. But don't let fear control you.
I think we concern ourselves about what we should be in the future and don't spend enough time enjoying the present moment. Don't tell me there's nothing to enjoy right now. There always is. Don't spend too much time worrying about who or where you should be in the future, have inspirations and work towards them but also remember to enjoy the everyday moments like sharing a meal with a loved one, taking a shower, watching the sun go down, watching a funny movie. Remember the lessons of the past, enjoy the present and plan for the future.
Let me know if I've said anything to help inspire you. That is all that I want. Not to insult anybody or make anyone feel bad about themselves. I want to help and by helping you I hope that I am slowly making the world a happier place, because I have kids and they deserve a beautiful place to live. The meaning of life is to leave this earth better than when you came to it.
Peace and Love to you all and thank you for your support!
Juliette