What is this blog about

So just what is the point in doing this, in starting a blog? What do I hope to achieve by doing such a thing? Well there is no real answer to that question but the best response may be to say this this is all an experiment.

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For years my thoughts have tended toward questions regarding the meaning of life. In my final year of high school before going on to college I was struck by an apparent lack of meaning in contemporary society. By this I mean this idea of going to school, getting a job, buying a home, cars, and so on. At the age of 18 I look forward and saw the inevitability of taxes and eventual death with no great purpose to the toil and struggle. At the time to road before looked long and pointless.

The first point that I would like to make is about toil and struggle. Survival is a struggle this has been true for every organism that has lived on Earth. At the age of 18 , sheltered and cared by my parents, I did not understand the struggle of survival. This is an important point to make for when the focus of a living being's energy is survival questions regarding the meaning of life do not necessarily come up. In a very real sense questions about the meaning of life are questions that come about in comfort.

It becomes a question of values, what does an individual value in their life? First and foremost people want to be comfortable whatever that might may mean for them. Much of time is spent gathering the means of sustenance. Whether by working or rummaging most of our activity is focus on keeping our lives going. In passing moments, when the situation is comfortable, in quiet reflection as thoughts arise we might ask ourselves: what have I done in life? As individuals, aware of our own unique being, this question is a natural inquiry. And it leads to further questions: what do I value in life? what do I want to do with my time? what will make my life meaningful?

In the ebb and flow of life I have had times of ease and times of struggle. In the times where I have had everything going steady, I had a job, food and home, I found myself wondering about what I valued. I would be at work and while performing a routine task briefly think, " what do I want to do in life". This thought has prodded me along and was a large factor in my choice to study philosophy in college. But it is more than an intellectual question, this is a source of energy I experience, urging me to keep working. Fueled by the desire of carpe diem I questioned my actions, choices, and goals; leading me to the ultimate question--- what is the meaning of it all?!

In the simplest answer the meaning of life is to survive. This is also, in my opinion, the most elegant answer. There is no entanglement of whys but a direct message survive. This is the meaning and purpose of all life in the end, the common pursuit of all living beings on this planet. Every day organisms throughout the world face the challenges of survival, we are all equal in possessing a will to live.And, yet, for humans possessing this acute awareness of our existence there seems to be something more that we are looking for.

As we continue down the paths of our individual lives we find through experience what we value. Although the topic of what and how we value something merits it's own discussion for now I will be using this working idea: whatever you put time into you value to some degree. I say this because even regarding some activity we may not like, such as work, there is a connection to our values. Using myself as an example, I may not particularly enjoy the work that I do but I do value preserving my living conditions. And by maintaining my household I can have the opportunity to work on projects I am passionate about.

Passion is a source of power, it is an energy wellspring within each person that inspires the individual to create, build, or excite in the world. This " something more" that I alluded to is something people are on a quest for whether knowingly or unknowingly. This "something more" is meaning and it occurs at the intersection of our values and passion. I have begun this project because it exists for me at this intersection. I value curiosity, inquiry and sharing what I have learned. I am passionate about finding meaning, about living a meaningful life and about philosophy. This project is the natural combination of my values and passionate creative energies; my aim is to take what I have learn and observe and through writing about it hopefully encourage others along the way to find themselves at their intersecction.