The Meaning of Life
I believe the single greatest obstacle to human happiness is our tendency to view ourselves as individuals.
The human race would benefit greatly if we each lived as an extension of humanity, rather than a separate individual. It's comforting to believe that as humanity lives on after we, as individuals, die; we never really cease to exist. Yet it's not a complacent view to take. It both lessens the pain of death and demands our contribution to life. I have always wanted to change the world. The idea that I am only an extension of humanity does not in any way limit my ambitions, but actually promotes them by giving them purpose. As individuals, our lives are meaningless. Nothing we can do in life will impact us in death. As extensions of humanity, our lives validate our existence through our contributions to humanity. Our importance as individuals is measured in our lasting impact on the world. If our significance is the measure of our value as human beings, even on a subconscious level we are aware of our relationship to one another as extensions of humanity. We suffer alone because we survive for the group. As individuals, we attempt to fill the void in our souls with sex, drugs, alcohol, religion - anything we can think of - because our basic need for connection is unmet, even within our relationships. We exist as organisms within humanity - extensions of each other. Without that connection, we are lost and without purpose. In a world where contact is so constant and complete, connection is decidedly rare to find.
The human race would benefit greatly if we each lived as an extension of humanity, rather than a separate individual. It's comforting to believe that as humanity lives on after we, as individuals, die; we never really cease to exist. Yet it's not a complacent view to take. It both lessens the pain of death and demands our contribution to life. I have always wanted to change the world. The idea that I am only an extension of humanity does not in any way limit my ambitions, but actually promotes them by giving them purpose. As individuals, our lives are meaningless. Nothing we can do in life will impact us in death. As extensions of humanity, our lives validate our existence through our contributions to humanity. Our importance as individuals is measured in our lasting impact on the world. If our significance is the measure of our value as human beings, even on a subconscious level we are aware of our relationship to one another as extensions of humanity. We suffer alone because we survive for the group. As individuals, we attempt to fill the void in our souls with sex, drugs, alcohol, religion - anything we can think of - because our basic need for connection is unmet, even within our relationships. We exist as organisms within humanity - extensions of each other. Without that connection, we are lost and without purpose. In a world where contact is so constant and complete, connection is decidedly rare to find.