Life, and its Meaning

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WHAT'S the point? Why are we here? Is there some thought or plan behind this thing we call life, or are we here just by unhappy accident? At various times in my life I have given this subject some thought. At occasions quite much thought, to be honest.

When searching for life's meaning, one has two places to look. Inside life, or outside it. Surprisingly it is very usual to search outside life, at least in religious thinking. Holy men argue that the meaning of life is to qualify for some particular afterlife -- be it Heaven, escape from the eternal circle of rebirth, or Valhall.

Instructions on how to qualify for the afterlife in question come attached with each theory. These guidelines usually make me suspicious, though, as the society that created them has so much to gain from them being followed. One gets the feeling that the societies created their religions with impure motives. It sought not objective truth, but to uphold a set of values.

IF one observes life itself, however, it becomes clear that we only search for its meaning when our lives are not working. This may indicate that the meaning of life, quite simply, is learning how to make our lives work.

This empirical approach of studiyng the subtext of life to understand its meaning, may also make religious sense. *If* there is a Divine Creator, the only work we know should mirror his intentions reliably (unless the Divine Creator is very nasty,) is the creation itself -- Reality as a Whole.

The next question, then, is: 'How does one make life work?'