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Pondering the meaning of life


It is usually about the time when life takes an undesired turn when we ask ourselves what is the meaning of it all.   When our jobs get very boring, or relationships end, or a loved one is lost, or life becomes monotonous or hard.  On days when we are in a rut, we take a look and find ourselves a guinea pig stuck on a wheel.  And what on earth is the meaning of that? 

The other night, when Mr. Urban and I were sitting in the dark in our living room talking about his late father, the question came up, and was just left up in the air...   And since then, its been quietly lurking in the back of my mind. 

I want to find a really good answer to the question, one to offer a grieving heart.  And make it feel a little better.

I wikipedia'd it, but nothing lovely came out of that.  

If you were to draw a flowchart of life, it does look mechanical and depressing... you are born, you eat and sleep and grow and learn and work and work and work and buy and consume and make connections and procreate and decline and eventually die...


 Last Sunday, we finally got to sit down to brunch with some of Mr. Urban's law school buddies that in the past few years, when we could hardly find the time to set a brunch date, have become partners at prestigious law firms.   The first thing they talked about (as all lawyers always do) was their collective relentless work schedules, and lack of time for anything but work.  Mr. Urban noted then how they were stuck on life's treadmill set on full speed... 

But then we had brunch.  The waffles, the maple syrup, the fresh farm eggs and the coffee arrived.  Jokes were exchanged.  We all laughed.  And in the course of listening to the buddies catch up, it became obvious to me how much these guys really enjoy their work.   And at one hour sharp, we all moved on to the next stop on our busy schedules.  

So yes, life is a mechanical flowchart, an endless to do list, hard work... but if you put that against a lovely soundtrack, and jazz it up with nice people to have a brunch with when you can, be sure to enjoy delicious food at every meal (and snack time) be it by yourself or with a friend, have a stack of good books close by, hobbies that you are passionate about to turn to when you can, have a nice reason for your life's work - whether its the pursuit of your calling or working hard to bring something good home at the end of the day (*see delicious meal above), and at least a couple of people that you adore most hours of every day, then I think it is all meaning and all beautiful.   All the way to the very end.  
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  1. TourajOctober 7, 2010 at 10:00 PM

    Love the flow chart... Reminds me of Enzo in The Art of Racing in the Rain!

    ReplyDelete

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