The Secret to Not Caring About the Secret

​To live life is about more than just going through the motions. We all try to find some larger meaning to life, some explanation of our existence to help us sleep at night. There must be a reason we are here, because if there isn’t then what’s the point?

 We turn to prayer or meditations, to science and exploring- anything to help us find an answer to the question in our heads. Anything to give us comfort. Why we live and why we die are questions that may never get answers, but, if there is no meaning to life does that mean life is not worth living? No one can tell you the way of life because it isn’t the same for everyone. Every interpretation of the way of life is different; however, life is what you make it. All life has meaning, but what you choose it to be is up to you.

Life is defined by your own personal experiences. The idea that we all are born with blissful ignorance and ascend into a light of knowledge isn’t accurate. While this may be true for some people, not everyone has that privilege. Some people go their whole lives just going through the motions and never stopping to ask “why?” Why was I chosen to be here? What role does my life play in the grand scheme of the universe? “…all things created have an order in themselves, and this begets the form that lets the universe resemble God.” Dante Alighieri, “Paradiso.” There is a natural order to everyone in the world and some believe that as it is in Heaven it must be on Earth. We try to dissect the Bible and understand what God wants, but only God knows that. We fast, go to church, follow the ten commandments and do everything in our power to appease God and what we think he wants.

What about the people who don’t believe in God? What about the people who seek other meanings of life? Whether the way of life is directly linked to God is based upon your own personal beliefs. To be fair though, you’d have to be pretty closeminded to think that there is absolutely no meaning to life and that there is no point to anything we do. Whether you choose to believe in order is solely up to you.  

Imagination and the way you interpret life play hand in hand. Montaigne was of the belief that your imagination controls your body. If you let your imagination run wild it can send all kinds of signals into your body, tricking it into believing things that are not true. “I do not find it strange that imagination brings fevers and death to those who give it a free hand and encourage it.” Michel de Montaigne Essays. If you let your imagination tell you that the way of life is one thing and you negate everything else, you’ll find yourself in a world of hurt. 

There is a belief that when we are born our souls are clean and untainted. We are given free will to decide who we will be and what path we will follow. We believe that if we attain worldly possessions such as money, cars, and expensive clothes we will find happiness. That is not really true and that person who understands that and lets those things go will be the one who is enlightened. Understanding the worlds reality can be fatally damaging to someone who cannot handle that truth. 

Life is inexplicable. We weren’t made to understand why we are here or what purpose our lives serve. Maybe the secret to life is that there is no secret. Cynical, I know. Some people spend their whole lives chasing after the answer to existential questions. If you ask a million people what the meaning of life is, you’ll likely get a million different answers. So, what do you call a question that has no answer? A challenge. Life is all about finding your meaning, not anyone else’s. Life’s meaning is whatever you choose to make it. It is up to you to decide whether you make the most of your time here or spend it chasing answers you will never catch. ​