I step out of the shower and hear the wind blowing forcefully outside, the usually refreshing smell of rain now seeming threatening and almost unpleasant as it filters in through the open window. I find it amazing how just a difference of night or day can have such an effect on my perception of the rain and its scent. But, I realise that this wind continues blowing as it has for many thousands of years, past this very spot which has changed so much over the lifetime of the earth; and that it shall continue to do so long after you and I have passed from this life. This wind, carrying its life-giving burden of rain, will continue to pass this spot and witness the inevitable changes that will take place in an apparently endless cycle that we call eternity.
So, why is this important? Why wonder about the age of the wind that pushes past? Simply because once we realise that everything (more commonly referred to as life) goes on after we depart, we need to find meaning in our existence, essentially for one reason - so that it makes sense to us, so that there is some reason for us being here.
Does this surprise you?
No?
Well, it shouldn't because meaning is the whole point of life, is it not? One cannot experience true joy," joy illimited," as Thomas Hardy called it, without having a sense of the purpose of it. Even joy would be a vacuum if we didn't have a meaning for it.
Creating or finding meaning - for me - is the only true way to experience life for what it really is. Everything else is just a distraction.
What are your thoughts? Where do you find meaning?
Photo credit: Zooey (https://www.flickr.com/photos/izoo3y/8737004032)
