The Meaning of Life

I don't watch much television these days, but when I do...

I sound like one of those 'The Most Interesting Man in the World" commercials, don't I? Sorry.

To continue... but when I do, I watch things like Stephen Hawking's Grand Design, which tonight focused on The Meaning of Life -- dah dah dum (insert ominous music here). He spent most of the hour talking about how everyone perceives reality differently, but in the end he concluded that the meaning of life was found in your mind.

I examined this question, as I'm sure all of us have, many times in my life and here is my conclusion. There is no Meaning of Life, in the grand plan of creation meaning of the term. To me, the meaning of life is an internal, personal thing.

What is the meaning of your life? And that, to me, is a two-fold question. The meaning of one's life consists of what are you passionate about and what do you do. And I don't mean your hobbies or your job.

In my life, the two things are interwoven. I am passionate about my love for my family and that makes part of the meaning (or purpose) of my life to raise children into thoughtful, responsible, intelligent adults. It also entails helping my husband fulfill his life's dreams, even if that means learning to Bondo a 1970 Chevelle SS and knowing how positraction affects a turning radius. (I can and I do.)

I have always believed the Native American saying, "We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." So I am a passionate, tree-hugging environmentalist from way back. I practice and advocate solar energy, wind power, and recycling. I used cloth diapers on all three of my children; this was in the late eighties and early nineties.

I believe in taking care of those who cannot take care of themselves, so I donate time and money to causes that help those less fortunate than myself. I am also one of the very few people happy to pay their taxes, as those taxes are providing necessary help to those who need it (at the moment, this may change after the next election).

I am so passionate about animals that my husband has made me promise never again to walk into a pet store or an animal shelter. I cannot stand to see animals in cages. When a neighbor abandoned two dogs, guess who took them in? I am passionate about child protection laws and decent healthcare for everyone. I am a member of the Human Rights Campaign and the ACLU. I could go on, but I think you get the idea.

All of these things make the meaning of my life. And that's all that matters really. What does your life mean? Whose life are you changing for the better and what did you do today to make your house, your community or your world a better place? That, my friends, is the meaning of life.