…Sitting in a crowded public library, studying Swedish and thinking about everything that’s been going on lately, in my tumultuous life, in this crazy world, wondering if this all that I see is for real, are we all living in some sort of a dream, or maybe even a nightmare?

And what is the point of living after all, if we have to suffer every day, and then, at the end, die alone and stupid.

We were born stupid, we live our boring lives in stupidity and ignorance, no matter how educated we think we are, and then we die stupid, thinking and believing how smart we were.

Maybe our lives are just some sort of a universal parody?

Maybe the whole universe is laughing at us and the way we live and think how proud, smart and important we think we are.

But in fact, we are only a small drop in a vast ocean, no greater than a small ant that walks under our feet. Our lives are of no more importance than lives of other living beings, plants or animals, or even from the rocks, the mighty river or a sand dust.

So, what do you think is the true meaning of human life, or any life whatsoever?

I don´t know. I really don´t. Maybe there is no meaning, maybe we are only fooling ourselves thinking that there has to be some meaning in everything. Maybe we just die and that´s it. Nothing comes after that.

But why do you come to this world and go through all of that misery if there is no meaning in anything you think, say or do? You know that there is a reason for everything, nothing comes without the purpose. 

Tell me, is there something in this world that makes you happy, really happy? Is there something you want to do before you die, someone you want to meet?

Maybe, but I´m not sure if that is really possible, not now, in my situation.

What situation? Why is your bad situation any different from the bad situations of other people in this world? Everybody has “to bear their own cross”. 

Well, in the last couple of years I had two goals or wishes that I wanted to fulfill before I die. One was to walk around the whole world, as a walking adventurer, to explore the world in all of its glory. Another one was to become a teacher, a spiritual kind of teacher, and teach people to become smarter and more creative, to try to eradicate ignorance, superstition and prejudice.

And what prevents you in fulfilling these quests?

Maybe I´m just too old and not quite capable to walk so much as I used to do in the previous years. And whom will I teach anyway? Where are my students? What will I teach and where?

Time will be your only guide and teacher. And remember, students come only when the teacher is ready for teaching. If they are not here, by your side, it means you are still not ready.

But even if I manage to make some sort of a school in the future, as I would like, what is the real purpose of that, and in general, what is the purpose of our lives after all?

The only real purpose of human life is to create and be created. Because this is the only thing you can really do. No matter how long you live, you have to die one day, as you said it before. So, when you do die, you will leave everything on this planet, even your own physical body. Nothing is really yours. What ever you have in your life is borrowed, your physical body, your parents, your friends, every material possesion you have. When you leave this place, you will keep nothing. So, only thing that you can do is to live your life as best as you can, use all of your skills that were given to you by the mighy forces of nature, and hope for the best. Your destiny is to create something good and constructive that will stay behind you, for the next generations, for which you will be remembered forever.

Remember, CREATE AND BE CREATED!

(Cover Image & Source: Meaning of Life @ The Great Courses)