Journey to seek the meaning of life

Abstract：Its about my journey to seek the meaning of life. Whats the meaning of life？ I found the life of great men were really meaningful， but what about the life of ordinary people？ Is their life meaningless？ Through my observation and thinking， I have that the life of ordinary people is also meaningful as long as they live their life to the fullest.

Key words： life， meaning， cherish， fullest.

When I was in primary school， I learned Rush， an essay of Zhu Ziqing， a famous author of China. His thought about time and life exerted a great impact on me， inspiring me to think about life. Since time flies and waits nobody， and life is limited， so what is the meaning of life？ Indeed， swallows may have gone， but there is a time of return； willow trees may have died back， but there is a time of regreening； peach blossoms may have fallen， but they will bloom again. But why should our days leave us， never to return？ I really felt very sad. I thought over and over again， why did I come to this world？[1]Time is sliding away and life is shortening， what should I do？ What should I achieve？ What should I leave to this world？ I began to reflect like Zhu Ziqing： What traces have I left behind me？ Have I ever left behind any gossamer traces at all？ I have come to the world， stark naked； am I to go back， in a blink， in the same stark nakedness？ It is not fair though： why should I have made such a trip for nothing！ I really felt puzzled and sentimental. I embarked on a journey to seek the real meaning of life almost since then.

As Voltaire once said， life lies in movement. During his life， he loved walking， running， swordplay， horse riding， swimming， climbing and sunbathing， etc. He even climbed a mountain with his friends to see the sunrise at the age of 80. Oh， I see. This is the meaning of life.

I also tried to figure out the meaning of life from others. Sima Qian， a famous ancient Chinese historian， said that death is inherent in man， but someones death is weightier than Mount Tai， while others is lighter than a piece of feather. Bajin holds the opinion that the meaning of life results from giving， rather than receiving or striving. Einstein thinks that only by dedicating to the society can one find out the meaning of transient and risky life. In this sense， the meaning of ones life depends on ones contribution to the world. So， historians like Sima Qian devoted their life to writing and compiling the history leave a legacy for the descendants to have a clear idea of the past， scientists like Edison， Newton， and Einstein committed to inventions and discoveries advance the world and better mans life to some degree， authors like Libai， Dufu， Luxun， D.H.Lawrence and Shakespeare apply their words to awakening and inspiring people， pondering over the society and enriching peoples spiritual world， and those great thinkers like Confucian， Laozi， Socrates and Aristotle influence peoples thinking pattern， leading people to think how to improve the world， learn to challenge the authority， judge everything fairly， pursue truth and try to improve themselves on the basis of mans common characteristics and individual personalities. Aristotle holds the view that the ultimate value of ones life lies in his ability of awakening and thinking， not in existence. They all either make glorious achievements or contribute a lot to the world， so all their life is meaningful. But what about others？ Is theirs meaningless？

I think of a documentary about the Great Barrier Reef once I watched. There is a kind of fish whose name I cant remember clearly. Every year they will travel all the way from afar through various difficulties， lay eggs on the island， and then die from exhaustion. They even risk their life of being eaten by larger fish. I just didnt understand why they bother to do so： always traveling on the way and die from exhaustion？ Whats meaning of it？ Just to multiply， keep the species and make them repeat the same process？ I didnt understand. But are their lives really meaningless？ Somehow， I think of humans. They are so similar. Parents give birth to children， work hard to bring them up， and then leave their children keeping the same process. Isnt this boring？ Whats the real meaning of life？

I think of many ordinary people who give love and happiness to all their families， relatives， and friends， who work hard all their life to support his family， provide their children with opportunities to grow up and do what they want to and enjoy the pleasure of life. We cant easily say their life is meaningless. It is these people who work together to make the society operate well.

Then I somehow seem to understand. Maybe I just ignore something. Both the life of the fish and man seem to be boring and dull， but the process is full of fun and pleasure. It isnt just a move from one place to another place， or a race with the time. It is really an interesting travel. Maybe the real meaning of life doesnt necessarily result from sports， dedication to the world， or great achievements. If you live your life to the fullest on your individual conditions and the whole environment of the society， you feel happy and a sense of achievement， little or great， your life is meaningful. Maybe just as Zhou Guoping， a Chinese author， said， we need to cherish the value of ordinary life. It is ordinary life that is the most important for humankind， without which humans cant keep on and we may not have got the chance to live on the planet to enjoy love， happiness and pleasure of life， so we should thank our all ancestors for keeping multiplying. I agree with Zhou Guoping that we can pursue glory and achievement， but we should not ignore or forget ordinary life. After all， its the permanent core and base of human life.

As Nobel puts， life is a gem that nature gives human to cut and polish. So as long as we cherish our life， cherish those who love us and those who we love， make the most of our life， live our life to the fullest， and enjoy the process， our life is meaningful.

Reference

[1]Zhu Chunshen， Rush， Chinese Translators Journal， 1994，the fourth issue.

作者簡介

田亚楠（1992-），女，河南漯河，武汉大学外国语言文学学院 本科在读，研究方向：英语语言文学。