Our Curious Minds

 From the thoughts stemming from a curious mind,

There has been one question that has been every philosopher’s, if not every human being’s, best dream and worst nightmare: what is the meaning of life? It’s a type of question that you can either shrug off within seconds or ponder for years and years and years until they stop pondering and realize they wasted their life looking for the meaning of life (ironically enough). This age-old question is the reason that our society formed in the first place. Our curiosity led us to become creative with our surroundings, which is what brought up ancient, if not modern, religion. 

Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, they all chase after the question of “Why?”  Why were humans created? Are we merely a stroke of luck, or did some higher being give life to us? Is there a certain path we must follow, or is it predetermined for us? What is time, and how much of it do we have as an individual but also as a civilization? All of these questions are sought after through the belief of God, or Gods, or no Gods whatsoever. Humans began forming theories of the purpose of life and then argue with others when their theories don't match with others. This is what causes debates, secularism, and ultimately, war. In our modern world, religion has become a sensitive topic because of all the same disagreements, and as more time passes, history becomes blurrier. In reality, we are all chasing after the same thing: they want to have bigger importance in this universe. 

It’s not difficult to admit that humans naturally want to perceive themselves as one that is alive with a purpose. We do not want to be mere coincidences of nature, we want nature to have been made specifically to help us thrive and learn. We want the universe to have been created for us because it’s a more comforting theory than believing that we’re nothing but an anomaly. One who doesn’t want to intertwine the meaning of life with religion may look at us as nothing but another statistic, which is why for centuries, scientists were far from appreciated. Nobody wants to be told a harsher truth; they want to believe that it is ultimately good and purpose in our lives. 

 But that is when I ask, if humans were brought here with a purpose, then why can’t every human make a difference? Most of us continue living our lives, helping others, and having others help us. We eat, we drink, we live, we make mistakes, and we wake up the next day to do it all over again in a repetitive cycle. This cycle has been continuing for centuries, with the only changes stemming from evolution and our environment. Our brains change, we form new tools, we improve our resources, we continue to build and grow as one. Yet, it cannot be ignored that our evolution is also what taught us about morals and ethics. 

Unlike our animal counterparts, we have developed brains complex enough to understand the need for morality, the difference between “good” and “evil.” Once again, morality is something that has been with us for centuries, and it developed alongside religion. Every religion has its own moral codes, in order to put forth rules and ethics for general society to follow. It is what stemmed the creation of “heaven and hell,” “enlightenment,” and even “rebirth.” Because it’s another essential question that is asked: what occurs to the human mind after death? Does the body separate from the mind? The concept of being judged for how we lived our lives ties back to the idea of creating a purpose out of our lives; even if we may not be able to sway the universe, we can surely sway the environment and the people around us? 

However, it seems apparent that some individuals have taken such morality to dangerous heights, by instilling fear instead of hope in their lives. Some choose to follow religions that become more and more strict as it encloses the “rules” that one is expected to abide by in order to make it to the heavenly world. But this gives the holder a dangerous power; they can abuse these “rules” by shifting it to their liking, as long as they can find a group to follow their every word. In ancient times, most of these rulings were done by men, which is why every religion has at least a dab of patriarchal influences. It’s a horrendous truth, but the truth nonetheless, because while humans were created to question and help, they can also succumb to greed and evil discreetly. It is all a matter of power after a while; it’s a test of the “survival of the fittest,” to see who will rise to power and abuse it, and who will be working underneath them, struggling to keep up. Our humanity is defined by these lines. 

There is good in the world, but there is also evil. Ironically enough, more people seem entranced to follow the evil rather than the good. Take a look at the media, for instance; many articles are purposely written to be sensational, not give good news. Every outlet is filled with fears and dangers for our world, and every person is exposed to it. However, no matter how much we may portray it, no one wants to hear the better side, the “good” side. The “good” is kept quieter; it isn’t given the same podium, but rather shoved to the side. If you ask what can be done for it, the answer is simply nothing: it is unobtainable, due to the irreversible nature of the human condition. Humans crave to hear the bad, the drama, the excitement; to most, atrocities are the same as spitting out a sort of professional gossip, while with good news, there isn't much to discuss. Humans thrive on change and debate, which is why there is no way our lives can be completely fulfilled unless there is bad in the world. We need bad in the world, and we need a lot of it; without problems, humans wouldn’t be able to thrive, make mistakes, debate, argue, and learn. We need evil, we need greed, and we need the worst to happen sometimes. Without it, our human population would have died out sooner; there is no way that every human can be inherently good, and there is no man nor woman who hasn’t done something that left a negative mark on the world. But that is how we grow as a society; by finding mistakes and repairing it, only to have a new mistake appear and go on repairing it once again. There is no utopia, and there should never be one; ironically, we need unrest to make our world perfect, and so one can argue that we live in a utopia right now. 

Of course, that doesn’t make it a utopia for every citizen in the world; there are still people who suffer and who pay the price for things they were not responsible for. Some call this karma; others call it a misfortune. In reality, it’s nothing more than merely unfortunate coincidences, sometimes caused by the individual themselves, and other times caused by no one whatsoever. Suffering is another negative impact, but it is something that must happen in order to continue our growth as a civilization. Suffering must happen because without it there would be no one for other humans to save. Suffering may be a waste at times, while it may be vastly beneficial to others. No human has truly lived without suffering something major or minor. 

Now we jump back to our original question: what does this have to do with the purpose of human life? Why are we alive? It is a question that no one has yet found an answer to, and one that I would assume will remain unanswered forever. One day, it is likely that our society will cease to exist as the Earth as we know it is consumed by the sun, and the sun grows older and older until it explodes, and the Andromeda combines with the Milky Way, and when everything known as “human civilization” becomes lost in the vastness of space. This scares some, which is why many prefer to live in the comforts of knowing that there is heaven awaiting them and their loved ones. Can it be proven or disproven? No one knows. But it answers our question: the meaning of life can be whatever one wants it to be. It can be melodramatic, or it can blossom into a flower of hope. The meaning of life can mean making a difference in the world, whether positive or negative it doesn’t matter. The meaning of life may be meaningless to some, as they would rather focus on living life rather than pondering it away. The beauty of our lives is that there are no questions that can be answered; some things exist because they do, or because of God, or because we choose it to, or as mere coincidence. As one says, “the beauty is in the eye of the beholder;” it is up to you and me to choose what life means to us, and live it to the fullest. 

We as a society will continue to argue and debate the truth. We will continue to discover and write and record and hope and laugh and cry and be curious. We will mourn the past, we will dread the future. We will smile at the past, we will hopefully await the future. We will create problems, we will solve problems. We will see how simple yet how complex our world is. We will strive to continue measuring and feeling and gain knowledge. We may one day be erased of all our hard work and start again as a new civilization, somewhere else in the universe. Our energies will continue to exist in this universe because we know enough to understand that there is a universe. We are nothing more than many lucky atoms who were blessed to find their way into forming life and consciousness. 

So while you’re living, live it in the way you want to, and live it to the fullest. Enjoy it. Hate it. Let things scare you, let yourself conquer your fears. Let the wind move, let the ocean continue to form waves, let the water ripple, let nature be. 

Let yourself be yourself. 

Let you be you. 

You be you. 

You.