Leah Hanna


Leah's ISU Question:

 

 

What's the point of life?

:)

 

I took my previous three questions and just kinda narrowed it down to what I think is closer to what I was thinking about. Actually, the question I have is very, very hard to articulate successfully...Ahhh.

 

From what I've observed over the course of my life so far, the point of all human existance seems to be to work, make money, spend money, and die. We're taught from a very young age that money is important (which it is, you need money to survive around here) and that we should forget what we want to do, and opt for the career that makes the most money.  When a person has a job that makes a lot of money, people tend to call them "successful". Which is kind of strange to me.

 

A quote that comes to mind is "We are all born individuals - Why is it so many of us die clones?"   What is it that happens to us between birth and adulthood that takes away our individuality? So many people are afraid to be who they want to be and do with their life what they want to, and why?

 

*Random, irrelevant thought* Another thing I've always found interesting... When you ask a child what he wants to be when he's older, he'll say something like, "A firefighter! An astronaut! A doctor! The Prime Minister!" Yet, when they grow up, they end up as a Sales Representative or something. While this could just be the result of laziness, it's interesting all the same. It's almost like once a kid grows up, his aspirations are told to be too high, and that he should aim for something lower.

 

Back on topic...The point of life. Observing all the other living things on the planet, the point of life for them seems to be to eat, sleep, reproduce and just enjoy the time they have. Yet humans main focus in life is their career and their paycheck. Aaaand while I'm writing this, I'm reminded of what some old lady at the Toronto Zoo said to me once...She was from Hungary, and she mentioned something like, "Back home in Europe we work to live. Here in North America, you live to work." That kinda stuck with me, because it's true. We spend our whole childhood preparing ourselves for the workplace. Then we work for most of our adult life, and then (if you're lucky) you can retire. And then there are the people who can't retire for monetary reasons, and end up working until the day they die.

 

Now obviously work is necessary. Nothing in life comes free, you have to earn it.  Even back before money, food and shelter wasn't just given to people. They had to hunt and catch their own food, and had to build their own shelter. But now, we continue working sometimes 12 hour shifts 5 days a week long after we've paid off our house. And let's face it, you don't need a $100,000 a year job to feed yourself.  So why do we live to work? To pay for our useless stuff. TV, cellphones, iPods, computers, expensive cars. All of these things are unnecessary. Yeah, they're sure nice to have, but do we need them? Hell no.  So what's the point in busting your ass off to pay for them (and missing life in the process)? Because, as dark as it may sound, you can buy all the lavish gifts you want, but when you die your money and your toys aren't going with you. When I look back on my life, do I want to remember all the expensive stuff I bought for myself, or do I want to remember my life as it was meant to be lived - Enjoyed, cherished etc. 

 

Life itself is a gift, isn't it? Not necessarily by some higher power, but just being alive. We're given life on this beautiful planet, and how do we spend it? 70 hours a week + in a cubicle filing papers.  Life is taken for granted, big time. How many people can honestly say they've sat down and watched  a sunrise? Not just been up while the sun was rising, but actually physically sat down and watched it, and noticed all the colors and the stillness of the morning? Fewer than you'd imagine.  How many people miss out on seeing some of the most beautiful natural wonders on the planet, such as the Himalayan mountains, or the Great Barrier Reef because they're stuck at work, or just don't have the money to go? It's sad, but it's reality.  Because of our "live to work" lifestyle, we tend to miss out on some of the most awe inspiring things in life.

 

Will continue later, I'm just writing down random, crazy thoughts.

 

 

- A lot of people have said that the point of life is to fulfill you wants, needs and goals. (Love, friendship, a family etc). Some even aspire to own lots of material posessions instead of having relationships with other people. That's fine. It makes sense. The point of YOUR individual life is to fulfill your indvidual needs. I guess my next question is kind of an extension of the first... Sure, we can accomplish all of these things. But why? When we die, our family or posessions don't come with us. Who knows? Maybe not even the memories of our personal accomplishments come with us. In light of this, what is the point of life? Something Sydney posted got me thinking some more... She said that death can't be the end, because what would be the point of being around for 80 years just to disappear.  This made me think... If death does happen to be the end, it's not just a matter of what's the point of being around for 80 years than disappearing, but rather what's the point of doing 80 years worth of stuff and then disappearing?