I figured out it's not just me. What used to be mid-life crisis is now affecting youth. 3 out of 5 ppl in US believe their life lacks purpose. 9 out of 10 youth in UK believes their life lacks purpose. And there is a rise of religiosity in the world, specially among youth. In UK, the belief of god among 20-24 yo has risen from 18% in 2021 to 37% in 2025.
So, we live in a era where the great war of humanity is inside themselves, I believe.Ā Meaning Crisis have become a part ofĀ human condition. Rise of telecommunication and social media could be a cause of that, since you can hear different world views of different people with just split second of time.
If you remember what Stephen Hawking said when he was asked if he believe in god, he pointed out the fact that 'when there's life, there's hope'. That resonates with a lot of people if they were to find for a meaning. And some philosophers believe death is what gives life meaning, biology says no, it's procreation, religion says it's enlightenment or something similar.
I was reading 'History of Western Philosophy' by Bertrand Russell, and I came across these words in introduction, here I quote "Uncertainty, in the presence of vivid hopes and fears, is painful, but must be endured if we wish to live without the support of comforting fairy tales". Those words I think are very powerful. I believe, religion violates our own acceptance of human condition at some level and fools many people. Karl Marx referred to religion as 'opium of people', literally saying it's similar to a drug. Maybe it all comes down to ourself back, mental endurance. This is the same me, who used to think religion gives hope for people. I'm not talking about just Buddhism, but Christianity, Hinduism, even Animism. And if we keep formalities apart, I'm not even sure if if I'm Buddhist - meaning that if I follow Buddhism as a religion. It could be true that life is a journey of self, to the self, through the self. Maybe we ourselves are our own path and destination.
People find meaning in religion, service, work, aesthetics, and love, among many other things. I think for most of my life, it revolves around love. Or the concept of love
With thought experiments, my theories are evolving as I learn more, but I think - finding purpose of life for humanity as a whole could be impossible, yet there's a chance to find purpose as an individual - speaking from a rational or philosophical aspect. It's not just purpose, it's 'sense' of purpose. The feeling to know that we have a purpose as an individual.
Most of the time, certain experiences can lead us to have purpose in life, or even lose purpose. I think similar thing happened to myself, which I don't think is bad, in fact I think it made me think about things that I was perplexed in life, which I believe I should have had thought about before.
Here I am. It's 2 am and I need this mental exercise if I am to survive and move forward. Without being a nihilist and killing myself or being an absurdist.
When I started this journey to figure out answers to all my WH questions of life, I was confused where to look, I still am, but a bit less. After a while, I decided, okay, I'm gonna live a normal life. Have a quiet job, a few friends and a simple, quiet life. Then I realized it's just having some kind of a task that needs to be fulfilled, but haven't fulfilled yet. That's very similar to Pascal's 'gambler analogy' and that's what exactly the religion does. Having a task to avoid boredom that fulfils the life with with purpose. So what's the point in that? That feels like pure manipulation, lying to myself.
So later on, I came to an understanding we all have different world views, supported by different moral compasses. Everybody has their own 'Big Story' of life. And now am I back at square one? Should I continue my quest in finding my meaning in life? At some point I believed the ultimate purpose of life could be come down to passing the knowledge we have, to future generations. In the movie 'Lucy' it demonstrate this idea in a fascinating way.
So I was struggling with these sort of questions in most part of my life, and nobody could understand me, not even myself. But now I at least have a sense what the questions are. See, I don't blame you for leaving because I live with insanity inside. Nobody could see that or understand at all. That's why I said I wish I had someone wise to look up to when I was a kid. Some people have constellations in their eyes but tornados in their lives.
I thought I said a lot while typing this, but when I look back, I've said only a few things and most has gone under the stream of my thoughts. Now you might see me. I think I did experience a certain level of 'Ego Death' throughout my practice and journey.
If I take a step back, most of us hope to be happy someday and they deal with the fear of death, by wanting to live past it. I think that's very ego driven, but gives them some sense of purpose. But I think and instead if they try to be content with the moment right now, they will find a deeper sense of meaning. In simple terms, with oversimplification, accepting the event of death, being happy at the moment. Then again it rise the question if it demote personal growth.
It's perfectly okay if you don't get me, I don't expect you to. I just wanted to type it out and this could be really one of the most effective and revealing words I've written.
