Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Some Answers 

In response to a student query on our school intranet Q&A folder. I don't think he was serious, but any kid asking "What is the meaning of life?" deserves a real answer.

Be generous -- with your language, with your assumptions, with all that you have.

Be joyful. Don't be afraid to dance. Worry not about what other people think.

Be grateful. Give thanks. Appreciate and acknowledge that which you are given.

Be righteous, but not self-righteous. Never forget that you may be wrong; never forget that dialogue cannot be won. Start all conversation prepared to change your mind, or you will never be able to trust your own mind.

Be uncomfortable. Only those who are unafraid to embrace pain can truly change. Only those who are truly unafraid to feel can make change. Only those who are open to pain can feel true joy.

Be free. Learn to recognize the constraints you put on yourself so that you may work to eradicate them. Wander for the sake of wandering -- the best learning comes from the unexpected path.

Be honest. To a fault. No matter what anyone says.

Be effective. Be realistic. Don't tilt at windmills. Change begins with yourself.

Be wise. Trust that all answers to this question are true.

Incidentally, the only other serious response offered to "What is the meaning of life" was "to find the meaning of life." But that cannot be; it's a logical impossibility. Let me know if you want the proof.

posted by boyhowdy | 7:51 AM |

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Comments:

Ok Josh,

That's "stuff you should do with your life".

Now, what's the MEANING of life (as in, what does it mean)?

# posted by  Shaw Israel Izikson : 9:28 AM, June 01, 2005

 

Life:

n. pl. lives (lvz)

1.

a. The property or quality that distinguishes living organisms from dead organisms and inanimate matter, manifested in functions such as metabolism, growth, reproduction, and response to stimuli or adaptation to the environment originating from within the organism.

b. The characteristic state or condition of a living organism.

2. Living organisms considered as a group: plant life; marine life.

3. A living being, especially a person: an earthquake that claimed hundreds of lives.

4. The physical, mental, and spiritual experiences that constitute existence: the artistic life of a writer.

etcetera...

# posted by  boyhowdy : 9:46 AM, June 01, 2005

 

That's great, Webster Farber...

But what is the Josh Farber definition of life?

No fair cheating or googling.

# posted by  Shaw Israel Izikson : 7:32 PM, June 01, 2005

 

Not clear what you're asking, here.

I WROTE my answer as the original blogentry. Cheat, my ass -- that's my original work, and I believe every word of it.

Some kid accused me today of finding it all on the Internet. Should I feel honored that, like Shaw, no one here at school believes I actually wrote this? Sigh...turns out, on the internet, no one knows you're a thinker.

# posted by  boyhowdy : 1:13 PM, June 02, 2005

 

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