When I saw the question, "what is meaningful in life?" I immediately thought people. People make things meaningful. I mean this in two ways; we endeavor to create meaning, and we are something meaningful to someone else. I think, for a person, life without people in it would be very dull because people need people, without the stimulation of another person or another animal like us then I think life would not be very meaningful. Also a part of it is mentality, to think life is meaningless, would make it that way. It is hard to derive any joy from life with that mindset and those who enjoy life and "live it to the fullest" would have a more meaningful life because they appreciate it. Something is inherently meaningful from just being alive, from feeling, and experiencing it. I don’t mean when we just act like zombies, wandering from place to place because that’s not living, I mean when we actually decided “I want to live and enjoy this while I have it”. There was part of class when we were talking about death and some people wondered what the point of living when we just die, I think that it’s the more reason to live all the more reason to live. We know there is an end; it adds meaning to life because we know we won’t be here forever. If we were, would we appreciate it as much?
I think it’s meaningful to find your own way of living, even if that way of living is apart of other ways. I happen to feel that meaning is personal. For me, meaning is personal because it is something that we feel is fitting for us. Even though a lot of what we want is the same as any other person, what it means for us is different.
We talked about many different units that we thought was important to know in living a meaningful life. In the health unit we did in class, we talked about different aspects of health, which including mental, emotional, and physical. We thought it was meaningful to be healthy because it’ll help us live more meaningful lives. I think if you’re healthy, in all aspects you can enjoy life more.
In this unit we explored a lot of the different parts to what people think is meaningful. We interviewed different people on the street and asked them what they thought was a meaningful life. Kate said that family and friends are important, and this was an opinion held by many people of the people in the class as well as many of the people that we interviewed later on. I think because those people give us a purpose in being here, they're someone we share life with, and can laugh about it with when things get hard, they're someone to lean on and to have lean on us. It’s a sense that there is a reason why we are here. I also think that when people have a passion for something then they have something meaningful in their life. It’s not necessarily about the amount of money they make; it’s about how they feel doing it. Some people are passionate about their jobs and they really give it their all in it. I think that's admirable because I'm not sure what I'm passionate about yet. I think though, when you are doing something you really love, and it challenges you enough, it’ll be very meaningful.
I think we do incorporate what we see and experience into our belief systems. In our Corporate Culture many different values are shoved at us, which makes people more susceptible to their marketing because they believe it. Like the magazines we read in the Library, magazines like Glamour or Vogue focus a lot on beauty, and they try to say to women, that if you buy the products you see on the pages, you’ll become beautiful. That’s part of corporate media because they are trying to sell you their products. Even technology is focused on being updated so people always want the newest and the best, it is a status symbol, like the brand of water you buy or who you wear. Part of what Corporate Media tells you are that you can buy meaning. But I tend to agree more with the folk message, that we get from the people we come in contact with and I don’t care if its cliché but I think that you can’t buy meaning but if you enjoy life and have a passion for something then you’ll live a meaningful life because it lasts longer than a the cheap thrill of getting something new.
During the Health unit, we talked about the many different aspects of health. Being physically healthy was not all there was to it. We studied emotional health, mental health, and moral health. I think a lot of interesting points were brought up in this unit. Looking back on it now I think the different aspects of health that it is also connected to the way we are brought up. As kids we probably have someone we look up to or are around a lot, and we imitate them. There are probably moments when each of us thinks that we just acted like our parents and get freaked out. Just the other day, my little brother repeated something I said in a way I would say it which made me realize that he was probably paying a lot of attention to me and what I do affects him in a big way. So I don’t want to say anything careless simply because I’m annoyed because he’ll probably try to imitate it. Gavin said that Emotional health and physical health were connected, because after exercising you would get endorphins and feel better. When we were running in Madison Park, we did feel happier and we were getting exercise. I thought about it and thought all of them were connected in some way.
We also studied, an animal unit. There was a time where we got more exposed to how we are like animals. When we went to Madison Park we got to play tag and which was a lot of fun. We're oftentimes cooped up during the day and I really enjoyed the break in routine and appreciated going to the park and seeing everyone have fun. The rush of adrenaline that occurs when we're on the run or chasing someone is probably similar to what animals must experience in the wild. In a way it reminded me of the game we played in school, the rabbit and the tiger, it was like a hunt in some aspects, we were the "tigers" chasing the "rabbits". Society oftentimes represses that side of us as we get older telling us we are "civilized", not animals, we sit on stools, we read books, we're different--better. The way we're taught emphasizes the mind rather than the body because that's "human" and it is yet another way for us to be separate from the animals. We forget that we have this side to us that is not based on rationality and it creates a disconnect to that side of us. Realizing that we are animals makes life more meaningful because we will be more in touch with ourselves because that is a part of ourselves.
Throughout this unit this is what we have been talking about “what does it mean to live a meaningful life?” For me it’s simple, just enjoy it. Live it in a way that you think will give you meaning because you’ll know what that is. I think that’s what all the units are related to. Being healthy physically makes us emotionally healthy since we’re happier and being emotionally healthy, is better for our mind and makes us mentally healthy as well. Knowing we’re animals’ gets us more in touch with our physical side and be less in the world of books and knowing where the different sources that our belief comes from for some may give them a sense of peace. When we do what we think is right, then we’ll be true to ourselves and our life will be more meaningful for it. For some, it may be to stop eating meat because they oppose the way the animals have been treated, for others it may be to stand up for someone, because no one stood up for them, and we do what we think will make us healthy, morally, emotionally, to live a meaningful life. In the end, we'll be the ones deciding which is which and what choice makes our life meaningful.
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