Maria Arielle Johnna Veronica Gaerlan Del Rosario

2011-31062
WFX














1. To put it plainly, no, life in itself is not meaningful. Life is defined as, - the state of an
organism characterized by certain processes or abilities that include metabolism, growth,
reproduction and response[1]. It is just a collection of processes that we go through almost
robotically as organisms enslaved by a predetermined system. I certainly did not have a say
if I wanted to live or not. If by now you think I am a pessimistic suicidal emotional wreck,
please read on. Humor me. What do a plant, an animal and a human being have in
common? They are all living organisms. Quite simply they all have life. But what makes us
different and/or special is our mind. The one that allows us to think, reason, feel and
remember.[2] It allows us to look at the world differently, to look at a dog and see a
companion, an equal, not food, to look at a man or a woman and see a home, not just a
mate, and to look at a child and see happiness yes, literally see happiness not just a
means to become immortal.[3] In other words it allows us to give meaning to an otherwise
robotic life. However, like all things that are given, having it does not entail using it. A man
wakes up, everyday, brushes his teeth, takes a bath, eats breakfast, goes to work comes
home and goes to bed without ever stopping to think why he does all of this. He looks up as
he waits for sleep to visit him and realizes he is in fact dead. Not in a biological sense but in
a deeper mushier philosophical sense. He can wake up the next day and decide to finally
give his existence some meaning or he can just go about the same routine he does every
day, like a zombie aimlessly trying to survive. Whats frightening is that a lot of people
choose the latter. Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor and philosopher, the realization of
Platos philosopher king, once said Our life is what our thoughts make it.[4] So to restate
my answer to the first question, no, life does not have meaning unless you choose to give it
one.
In the pursuit of giving meaning to our lives, we might find ourselves hitting a road block on
the first kilometer or so. It is only when we let our walls down that we find an alternative
route. It is only when we choose to look at the world with a different set of eyes, those with
wait for it love, are we able to get our engines going and finally take on the journey. So,
not only does love have something to do in this pursuit, it has everything to do with it.