What is the meaning of Life or Does Life Have A Purpose?

Have you found meaning in your life or have you found your purpose?

Head of Odysseus-Marble, Greek, Ca.1st Century AD-Sperlonga.

Let me extrapolate my questions. There are seemingly two parts to the question.

First, on the meaning of life. Have you figured out what is the meaning of life or simply question the meaning life holds for us? Why are we here?

Having being flung onto this Earth was a rude awakening from wherever we came.

We suddenly find ourselves living among people we first call our parents, then our grandparents, our relatives, then our siblings, our friends, our close friends, our love interests, our soul mate/s and if we are so blessed, children and grandchildren. All this happens while we pursue an education, a career, a vocation - a life. And then, we die. Is that it?

Second, on the purpose of life. Have you found your purpose in life? What is it that we are supposed to do in this life? Who is watching? Who is keeping score? Who is it that says we have achieved our life's purpose and can therefore move on to the next level?

These are fundamental questions no less deep.

But these questions have prevailed in my life since I was fourteen. I had three fundamental questions back then. I remember one day in school I asked a close friend of mine these three questions;

1. Where did we come from?

2. What are we doing here?

3. Where are we going?

My friend's answer was quite simple: he said;

1. We came from our mother's vagina.

2. We are supposed to study hard, work hard, make a living.

3. We are going to get married and have babies.

To which I said, "no that's not what I meant."

"Then what do you mean?" my friend asked.

"I mean where did we come from before we ended up in our mother's womb and exiting the vagina?" I explained and I continued; "What is our purpose here and Where do we go when we die?"

My friend looked at me strange and mumbled something that suggested I was crazy.

That made me feel strange and I never brought up the subject again for fear of being labelled crazy or worse having to lose my friends. But I have never stopped asking those questions ever since.

Fifty odd years later, I believe I have come close to an acceptable answer. Well, better late than never.

Every belief or ideology must be rooted in personal experience, otherwise it remains nothing more than a concept, a fantasy or pure imagination.

From my experience of life thus far, I have come to agree with Albert Camus’ assertion: life is absurd.

Absurdism is Camus' claim to fame. And it's for a good reason. It makes sense given the repetitive nature of our daily life and the absence of clear answers about life’s purpose.

Life has no meaning and therefore is absurd.

Why? Because we seem to be just going through the same things every day. Day in. Day out.

We live in a life that gives us no evidence of a god or a clue about what we're doing here or an afterlife. Absolutely no sign, clue or evidence. So what do we do?

Some people put their belief and faith in a 'God'. But Camus would call believing or having faith in something illusory like religion would be akin to committing suicide. Philosophical suicide that is.

If we are willing to place belief in an ideology, and commit philosophical suicide, it is not far removed from the option of physical suicide – an extreme response to life’s absurdity. And it is perfectly justifiable, at least to them and Camus' argument on absurdism.

However if one were to come to terms with the meaninglessness of life, and instead decide upon giving life its own meaning, then one can live in this absurd life according to one's purpose that one decides upon.

Camus’ reflections on absurdism came to a head in his powerful speech at Columbia University in March 1946, entitled “The Human Crisis.”

Watch Viggo Mortensen deliver his speech at the same location 70 years later.

The Human Crisis

Viktor Frankl's book; Man's Search for Meaning, details the horrors of war played out in Auschwitz and other concentration camps. He survived, and encapsulated the ordeal in a quote; "If you have a why, you can survive any how"

Emily Esfahani Smith's book; The Power of Meaning, argued that; "we are a race more in search of meaning than of happiness."

Frankl argues that finding a ‘Why’ is essential for surviving life’s trials, while Smith suggests that the search for meaning itself may be a more important drive than the pursuit of happiness.

Leo Tolstoy, one of the greatest writers to ever live, displayed his ingenuity with two monumental epics- Anna Karenina and War & Peace and dozens of short stories that is a deep exploration of how to live a true and meaningful life. Few can rival the depth and scale of this man's imagination. He was nominated 5 times for the Nobel Prize in Literature (1902-1906) and was even nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. His take on the meaning and purpose of life is to simply help people. Starting with the people right in front of you, right now, ultimately finding fulfilment in meaningful connections with others and living with compassion in alignment with one’s truest self.

Tolstoy’s belief that true purpose lies in meaningful human connections echoes the notion that fulfilment comes not from what we do but from how we live in alignment with our true selves.

Ekhart Tolle, the teacher who introduced me to the transformative power of the present moment, offers yet another profound perspective on meaning and purpose. In his book A New Earth, Tolle emphasises that the true purpose of life lies not in what we do, but in who we are - our state of consciousness. 

He writes; "As soon as you rise above mere survival, the question of meaning and purpose becomes of paramount importance in your life. Many people feel caught up in the routines of daily living that seem to deprive their life of significance. Some believe life is passing them by or has passed them by already. Others feel severely restricted by the demands of their job and supporting a family or by their financial or living situation. Some are consumed by acute stress, others by acute boredom. Some are lost in frantic doing; others are lost in stagnation. Many people long for the freedom and expansion that prosperity promises. Others already enjoy the relative freedom that comes with prosperity and discover that even that is not enough to endow their lives with meaning. There is no substitute for finding true purpose. But the true or primary purpose of your life cannot be found on the outer level. It does not concern what you do but what you are- that is to say, your state of consciousness."

~ Excerpt from A New Earth.

This echoes a universal truth: true purpose begins within. As Tolle asserts, your inner purpose must be understood and embraced before you can begin to discover your outer purpose – that is what you do in the world.

While Frankl emphasized that meaning is found through struggle, Tolstoy and Tolle both suggest that meaning also comes from within, through inner alignment and authentic connections with others. In that sense, perhaps the true search for meaning is less about what we achieve and more about who we become in the process.

And even in ancient mythology, we find the same struggles with meaning, purpose and the nature of life. Homer’s Odyssey presents us with Odysseus, a hero who faces a choice that ultimately speaks to the heart of human existence. After winning the Trojan War, he is trying to find his way home. It seems easy enough but fate had other plans for him. As he sails home, Odysseus offends Poseidon - God of the sea. As punishment, the God causes him to get shipwrecked and washes ashore a strange island. This island, Ogygia, is home to Calypso - a beautiful nymph.

Upon finding Odysseus, she claims him for herself: He is to be her lover. Though married Odysseus is forced to submit to Calypso. For 7 years, Odysseus is held captive in a life of endless pleasure and comfort. She offers him everything he could ever desire – immortality, eternal youth, and unlimited satisfaction. It seems like an ideal life, free from pain or hardship. Yet, despite the allure, Odysseus makes a choice that ultimately defines his purpose and quest for meaning. Odysseus has the opportunity to become a god. 

Odysseus' response is simple; "No." He refuses immortality and youth, rejecting the hedonistic life she offers. His decision highlights something essential about the human condition: the pursuit of meaning and fulfilment often requires us to choose challenge over comfort, uncertainty over security, and the possibility of suffering over the illusion of eternal bliss. Instead he returns to sea and into a world of chaos, suffering and death - hoping to find his way home.

What could Odysseus value more than immortal pleasure, free of suffering?

If you take a look at Odysseus himself, everything changes:

By rejecting Calypso, he narrowly escaped hell. How did he escape hell?

When we first find Odysseus captive, he's on the beach weeping by himself. Why?

He longs for home, his wife and his family.

Though Calypso owns Odysseus' body, his heart is with his family.

Life under Calypso offers unlimited comfort, but no struggle and no love.

In this utopian world, Odysseus would never experience hardship, but he would also never experience the depth of human connection or the fulfilment that comes from love, virtue, and personal growth.

Odysseus realizes that a life of empty pleasure would drain him of meaning and fulfilment turning him into an empty husk.

Man was not designed for pleasure, but greatness.

Odysseus rejects immortality, and embraces adventure and suffering:

He realised man finds meaning in the face of adversity.

"The good life" is not an easy life - it's an adventurous life marked by love and virtue.

Under Calypso, Odysseus had no freedom to seek virtue. He was subjected to her lust- trapped in a loveless prison.

As Dostoevsky reminds us; "Hell is the inability to love." Odysseus, in 'hell' preferred death itself if it meant he could be with his family. 

Ultimately, The Odyssey points us to life's meaning:

Like Odysseus, we all yearn for home.

Home is marked above all else by family, adventure and relationships built on true love (not lust)

To search for this home is to begin your life's adventure.

Like Odysseus, we too have storms in life to encounter. We too will find temptations leading us astray:

Our job is to find our way home.

And home is found through a life marked by charity and virtue above all.

Therefore the moral is this;

"The world offers you comfort but you were not made for comfort, you were made for greatness."

Greatness is found in our search for 'home' marked by a love of man and a pursuit of virtue.

Seek greatness and you'll find home.

As we navigate the challenges of the 21st century, we find ourselves facing questions not just on the meaning of life, but of our relationship with the technology that increasingly shapes our existence. In a world where artificial intelligence (Ai) continues to evolve and change the landscape of work, communication, and creativity, we are faced with a paradox: will these advancements help us discover a deeper sense of purpose, or will they draw us further away from the very human connections and experiences that give life meaning?

Ai, in its promise and power, presents us with opportunities for comfort, efficiency, and convenience. Yet, just as the Greek hero Odysseus rejected the seductive pleasures of immortality with Calypso, we must ask ourselves: will the pursuit of technological comfort and ease hollow us out, leaving us disconnected from our truest selves and the purpose we seek?

It is clear that in an age of rapidly advancing technology, the age-old questions of meaning and purpose are more relevant than ever. The core of our journey remains the same: we must cultivate deep, meaningful relationships, pursue virtue, and seek out our true inner purpose—whether we are navigating the challenges of life in the 21st century or in the world of ancient mythology.

The challenge of the future is not to let technology define our purpose, but to ensure that our pursuit of meaning remains deeply human. In this way, the quest for purpose continues to be our most profound and eternal journey, regardless of the tools or distractions that emerge along the way. 

Thank you for reading.