What is the point of life?
All of us have pondered over this question. Luminaries have devoted their lives in the pursuit of an answer to this question. Philosophers have written voluminous texts trying to answer this question.
I am no Yogi, but that does not disqualify me from trying to answer this profound question. Beware, my answer might leave you with a feeling of meh.
During a holiday, a group of us friends played a weird game of football. We were randomly dribbling the ball, passing, and tackling each other – no teams, rules, goals, and referees. This pointless pursuit of the ball was fun.
What is the difference between kids and adults?
Kids involve themselves in pointless pursuits. They are always engaged in one activity or the other. These consume them. We, the self-critical adults, try to see a point in everything. Few things consume us.
Give a cardboard box to a kid. She can keep herself occupied with the box for hours—an adult dreads at the thought of this.
When a child is young, she loves to draw irrespective of whether she is good at drawing or not. As she grows older, she pursues drawing only if she finds herself good at it. Enter adulthood, she becomes self-critical and continues her hobby only if she sees a point in it.
As an adult, try to remember the last time you were engaged in and consumed by a pointless activity.
A child actively indulges in role-play, creating stories in her head and acting it out. An adult passively watches role play in tv-series and movies. A child plays a variety of games. An adult passively enjoys sports watching others play.
As we age, we move from an active to a passive life. We try to seek a point in everything.
A child has no time to search for meaning. She is busy indulging herself in everything. The activity is the end; it is not a means to an end. I believe the same goes for life.
The point of life is not to search for meaning but to indulge in it. It is a pointless existence, and there is a joy to be had in understanding this. It is liberating.
Follow @abhyrama
Photo by Emily Morter on Unsplash
Abhirama's Blog 