The meaning of life is what we assign to it. It is what we
will it to be. It is how we feel about our experiences. There are as many
different meanings to life as there are people. To define the meaning of “an
individual life" by anyone other than the one living it would be an
incorrect assumption. Our life has no meaning to anyone else. We are born
with no meaning in our life. We fill in the meaning as we live and grow. Life
is but a blank slate when we come into the world at birth.
Just as a keepsake has meaning to only the holder of the object. The owner of
the keepsake assigns meaning as to the circumstances surrounding the
acquisition, the feelings at the time it was acquired, the people associated
with it and the history of the object in relation to how the person feels about
it now. That encompasses the meaning of the object as much as life’s meaning is
defined by that same individual. His experiences and feelings are his or her
keepsakes.
The meaning of life is therefore determined by the sum total of experiences,
feelings and the values assigned to those experiences and feelings by the person
whose life is being defined. No one can give us the meaning of our own lives.
Meaning is neither positive nor is it negative-it just is. We are the only ones
who can judge whether something in our lives might be meaningful in either a
positive or negative way by how we feel about it.
Just as art and music hold different meaning for each of us, life holds a
different meaning to each one of us as well. We are the owners of our own
lives. We decide the meaning. We all begin life much the same way by our birth
and end it the same way in our death. In between, the definition of ones life
holds meaning only for that individual. Our life has no meaning to anyone else.
Life is a blank slate when we come into the world. It is in between birth and
death that we fill in the meaning of our lives.
Rick Mariner- Is the Owner and founder of Haywire Custom Guitars
and a member of The A.S.I.A. as well as a guitar player. He holds a
Community College teaching Certificate valid for life in California. He
also holds a B.A.from University of Md. and Masters Degree from George
Washington University in Counseling and Human Development.
Disclaimer: All information on this site is
provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice
provided to you by any health care or other professional or
organization.
