I truly hope that my response comes off as nothing but friendly - not at all a challenge to my friend's comments, but rather, an invitation to look at this topic from a different perspective.
First, then, his comments, in case you missed them:
"I think that the question that so many try to answer is not so much just Life? but What is the purpose/point/meaning of life? Why am I alive? What is my purpose/point? What is the meaning of my life? Does life have significance?
"These are all answerable questions, and the answer that you come up with has drastic implications on your experience of life.
"From a Christian perspective, yeah, I believe that God is 'The Answer' because I believe that Jesus is 'The Life,' and therefore, if I truly want to experience life to the fullest, if you want to truly experience life to the fullest, it must be within Him, because He is the answer to a different question, What IS life? and within Him is pure unadulterated life.
"'...I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.' -- John 10:10"
* * *
In my post, I more or less tried to
anticipate the points you brought up – my apologies if I did not do
so effectively enough (or perhaps you are aware of this, and are
merely trying to express another point of view on the matter? -
perhaps you are trying to kindly express that you disagree?).
At any rate, I suppose I could say that
the point of The Answer – though I didn't state it directly this
way – is that I am trying to express an alternative to our western
dualistic mode of thinking (and yes, I am aware of the irony in
calling dualistic philosophy “western,” meaning: “as opposed
to eastern” – haha).
Yes, we could say that “what is the
meaning of life?” is the question most directly on the table here.
What I am trying to show in my post, however, is that, it seems to
me, this is a non-question. Understand, I'm not saying that there is
no answer. Rather, I'm saying that perhaps there is no question.
I would not say that there is anything
inherently wrong with wanting/looking for “something more.” And
this idea – of “something more” – is, I think, where the
meaning-of-life question originates (this is what you're saying too,
I believe).
When we treat life as though it is a
question, however (by asking things like “what is the meaning of
life?”), we are belittling the experience of life. We are assuming
that there is another side to the coin.
We are, in all actuality, saying, “life
is only half the story.”
What I am proposing is that, it seems
to me, life is the full story.
This does not mean that there isn't
“something more,” or that nothing happens to us after we die –
maybe, maybe not.
But life is one thing, and that
“something more”/that place we may or may not go after death is
another thing. They are not different sides of the same coin. They
are different coins entirely.
Life in and of itself is the entirety
of the experience. It has no opposite, no mirror-image, no symmetry.
Though I did not intend to bring a
Christian angle into this topic, I will happily meet you there on
that point:
You said that Jesus is “The Life”
(clearly, of course, referring to John 14:6 - “I am the Way, the
Truth, and the Life...”). This is a fine interpretation of the
matter. It's not what everyone believes, of course, but I can respect
and appreciate that this is your – and many millions of other
peoples' – stance.
A mathematical way to look at it, if
you don't mind:
If, to you, Jesus = Life, why bother
turning Life into a question?
1. As I've expressed, turning life into
a question (such as “what is the meaning of life?”) = “life is
only half the story”
2. Jesus = Life (see John 14:6)
3. Therefore, Jesus = half the story.
I assume (if you don't mind me being so
bold; of course I don't mean to put words into your mouth) that you
do not believe item 3. And yet, it is the conclusion of parts 1 &
2.
So then:
If Jesus = Life, and Jesus is not only
half the story, then Life cannot be only half the story either.
If Jesus is the whole story, then Life
is the whole story. Which means that, by extension, Life is not a
question.
But of course this is only a way to
frame this topic within the realm of Christianity; there are many,
many other frames, many other realms.
And really, my larger point isn't meant to
be attached to any one religion:
By making life into a question (such as
by asking “what is the meaning of life?”), we are bringing a
dualism to life that, I believe, is not naturally a part of it.
Rather, I propose that life is the
entirety of the story, nothing more or less or other. It is the
breath you take in, the moment you realize that watching the sunset
could never be a waste of time; it is all of the love and frustration
you feel for your children all in one instant, every single day; it
is how you treat other drivers on the road, even when they're being
unfair; it is the song that gets stuck in your head when you really
don't want it to; it is where you are between your thoughts.
I have a tattoo on my arm which reads
“the kingdom is now or never.” Because life is an experience, not
half of an experience.
It is the experience of looking at a
tree and saying “Ah!”
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