The Meaning of Life, Rubinshteinic Edition

To live is to breathe, eat, drink, sleep, and perform the rest of the functions of an organism, which are usually universal to all. This is the meaning of living.

However, you can ask, "Why am I here?" Well, you are here because you were born successfully, and didn’t die, yet. That’s all to it, really.

There is nothing really fascinating about the meaning of life when these truths are acknowledged. The rest of your life’s meaning is either up to you or dictated by your social norms.

I believe that none of us can really see into the extremely distant past to the first point where humankind was first created or evolved, and how can one truly trust ancient documents that may not only contradict each other but also be inaccurate and even completely wrong?

Life is an existence into a grand non-existence of void. The vast majority of the universe is devoid of sentient lifeforms.

We only have our own selves within our only sapient solitude. This is why we created shared illusions such as "norms", "rules", "cultures", "morality," and "religions": to keep us away from the meaninglessness, to keep us distracted from venturing into the emptiness and purposelessness of this reality, which is the only concrete reality known to us. Sorry to break it to you, but everything is earthly.

What you do have, however, is your own freedom to grant your life meaning. The possibilities of this grant are limitless, like the universe itself. You don’t even have to follow a certain social dogma in order to give meaning to your own existence.

The term "meaning" may be subjective, and subjectivity is liberty. We are subjective beings, and therefore we are liberated even if we were to be put in a cage. No one can take away our freedom of creating and managing our own mindsets within the isolation of the individual consciousness.

It is just a matter of exercise, and that exercise of internal freedom is best handled while alone, away from cultural distractions being imposed on you as "truths". Why should one see cultural values as "true" if they are subjective constructs, i.e., made by other people?

You are the creator of your own meaning. That specific meaning doesn’t have to be true for other people. Meaning is a customized engine for the vehicle that is the life-force of the individual. You better be equipped with this kind of engine, or else you may risk falling into the depths of depression and nihilism.

Of course we live in an empty universe, but that doesn’t mean we have to be hollow, too. We are different from the rocks and the star dust; we are self-conscious creators, with our minds being the multi-purpose key to whatever we may choose to do with it and to design it.

Meaning is not necessarily something that will come to us, and we just have to passively wait for it. Instead of waiting, we ought to take responsibility and find or create meaning for ourselves.

Complaining about a lack of meaning, then, will not help one's quest for life-long fulfillment. Unless the source of meaning actually comes to us, the attainment of meaning should be an endeavor to work towards, because otherwise no one will do it for us.

Even with the hollowness of the universe, there is still much to do in life, and if it's not in the subject you're interested in, then it's in many other fields of expertise or knowledge. Inquire, learn, and find new opportunities; they will not necessarily come to you as you complain about emptiness.

As Socrates said, "I know nothing". How can you know for sure that you have completely mastered the field of interest or profession you excel in? After I finished my third book, "Bread, Water, and Book", I genuinely thought that I had little else to write.

Looking back, I realize how wrong I was, because not only did I write four more books, but I also wrote hundreds of articles for this website.

I also thought at times that I no longer had anything else to write, only to write an article the same day I thought so! This is how uncertain our existence -- and our knowledge -- is.

Keep an open mind and work your way towards meaning; don't expect others to do it for you. Become an active force that works towards purposefulness, and don't just give up when you feel you have little else to do in life.

Existence is dynamic, fluid, and uncertain, and as such, declaring that your existence is meaningless, regardless of your age, will only make you create an obstacle in your own way for attaining long-term satisfaction.