What is the meaning of life?

I remember this one time in college during a philosophy class, I walked away feeling like the meaning of life had been revealed to me it was so amazing. However, I never wrote it down and it was lost somewhere. We were talking about the question of “How do you know you are alive?” It was an amazing discussion and the professor was absolutely amazing. For this specific prompt, the students were trying to convince him how they know they were alive and he would refute their claim. That class was an incredible experience. I think I still have the books we read somewhere. Maybe I should read them again.

I believe for me the meaning of life will always be the impact I make on the world around me. Whether I am gardening, volunteering, or everyday choices, I think about the consequences of what I do. I am not saying I am not selfish sometimes, but that I recognize when I am and try to do better.

There is also a purpose of life, which I think gets overlooked with the meaning of life. I believe that we are here to experience the world. We are here to learn about the world around us. The nature, the beauty, the way it works, how we affect it, and what we can learn from it. There are so many different people and thoughts on life that we need to take a moment and actually consider other viewpoints. There is never one correct view on anything because we all have different lenses from which we look at the world.

You learn a lot when you volunteer. Primarily, you learn about the problem you are helping with. You see a different side to the problem. My high school had a community service requirement and I wish all high schools did. Through service you learn to look at the world differently than what you were told it looks like. I tutored for a few years and the kids I helped the most were the ones that I was told were the problem. While working with the kids, I learned that the system failed them in some way. They did not have time to do their homework because they had to take care of younger siblings. Another one did not understand fractions, so I brought in a bag of M&Ms and taught her fractions. She was in middle school and never had anyone sit down with her and go over it. She picked it up after a few examples. They were not stupid kids, they were not problem kids, they were not lost causes. There was a system that failed the people they served. Volunteers helped to bridge the gap.

I love the quote out there about pets or animals. “You may have your dog for seven years, but your dog had you their whole life” and all the iterations of it. I still think about those kids I worked with. I think about the animals I adopted that are gone now. Those are the moments you remember. They are the moments that have the biggest impact on you.