| You might be interested in the Christian perspective here. This particular question of where and how to attach meaning to your life is not a new one. Solomon pondered many questions along these lines in the book Ecclesiastes. You could read the whole book in an hour or so (and I heartily recommend it). His conclusion? Everything you do in your entire life is meaningless! [0] You can come to that same conclusion via multiple world views, by the way. What makes the Christian perspective unique is that it claims that ultimately, you as an individual are significant for reasons entirely apart from what you do in the span of your years on this planet. [1] Which isn't to say the search for meaning in this life is fruitless. At the end of the day we all want to point to something we did that mattered. But Christians believe (and Ecclesiastes ultimately concludes) that true meaning is judged on a timescale greater than we're used to considering. [2] [0]: https://www.bible.com/bible/59/ecc.1.esv [1]: https://www.bible.com/bible/59/ecc.3.11-15 [2]: https://www.bible.com/bible/59/ecc.12.11-14.esv (BTW, I'm very interested in having a discussion group around these sorts of topics with fellow HNers, in the style of a Socratic Club. If you're interested, hit me up at the email in my profile.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socratic_Club |