LIFE

A term paper written by

Ann Margaret E. Enabe 11-HUMSS C
 I. INTRODUCTION

The meaning of life is a well-kept secret in a glass jar. It stares back at us in the
mirror. It surrounds us on our way to work. It sits quietly in the palm of our hand. When
we pass each other on the street, life’s meaning looks into our eyes. We touch it, feel it,
smell it and sense it every day but we do not realize what it is. We talk about life, and we
meditate about its meaning. We read books to find the answer. We ask those in high
regard ‘what is the meaning of life? The secret is that there is no secret (Emily, 2010).

What is the meaning of life? This has been one of the major questions of
philosophy for centuries; from Socrates to Nietzsche and from Tolstoy to the famous
comedy writers’ group Monty Python. People from diverse intellectual backgrounds
asked what the meaning of life is. Human beings are naturally inclined to search for, and
achieve meaning in life as a means of understanding life events, and integrating them into
a coherent whole. Although the experience of possessing meaning in life has been widely
researched, the process of searching for meaning which is of utmost importance, has been
largely neglected (Steger, 2009). However, searching for meaning does not appear to lead
to the attainment of meaning as one might intuitively expect (Steger, Kashdan, Sullivan,
& Lorentz, 2008). Meaning in life appears to share a positive relationship with well-being
such that happiness and life satisfaction are elevated, and depression reduced; however,
search for meaning has been shown to have the opposite pattern of correlates (Park, Park,
& Peterson, 2010).

II. Definition of Life

2.1. According to Genesis 2:7, "the Lord God formed the man from the
dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man
became a living being." This "breath of life" does not distinguish human
beings from other animals, nor perhaps even plant life, as can be seen in
Genesis 1:29-30. When God declared his judgment against Noah's generation,
all creation in which there was the "breath of life" would suffer the destruction
 of the flood ( Gen 6:17 ; Genesis 7:15 Genesis 7:21-23 ). The breath of life
distinguishes the living from the dead, not human beings from animals ( Eccl
3:18-19 ). Consistently throughout Scripture God is portrayed as the giver of
life, which distinguishes living organisms from inanimate things (Rom 4:17 ).

2.2. During the 5th century BC, noted philosopher Socrates declared
“The unexamined life is not worth living.” This simple quote is not just
influential to a philosophical mind; it suggests something deeper and more
complex. It is a mandate that compels humanity to examine life’s essence.
Socrates influences us by linking meaning to life and placing a heavy weight
to his words. He does not just suggest that there might be meaning to live, he
insists that it must be contemplated, examined (Emily, 2010).

III. Challenges in Life

3.1. Challenges are a part of everyday life. They make us stronger and
without them life becomes somewhat meaningless because we have nothing to
compare the good times to. These challenges come in many forms. For some,
the challenge is doing well at school, for others it is getting to grips with
financial worries. But, regardless of the challenge, facing up to it is key.
Doing so will make you feel like you can take care of yourself, it will also
make you understand the value of what you have now. Facing up to
challenges and living through them give us the experiences that make up our
life (Hiu-sze, 2008).

3.2. Challenges are opportunities to grow. That growth takes place out
of potentiality, your potentiality, which is infinite and highly active in every
moment of life. Come to know yourself as that. You are pure potential
experiencing life through what seems like limitation. Challenges are spikes in
that imaginary limitation barrier that guide you to awareness (Carver, 2017)
 3.3. Life is beautiful but not always easy, it has problems, too, and the
challenge lies in facing them with courage, letting the beauty of life act like a
balm, which makes the pain bearable, during trying times, by providing hope.
Happiness, sorrow, victory, defeat, day-night are the two sides of the coin.
Similarly life is full of moments of joy, pleasure, success and comfort
punctuated by misery, defeat, failures and problems. There is no human being
on Earth, strong, powerful, wise or rich, who has not experienced, struggle,
suffering or failure (Bunty, 2015)

IV. CONCLUSION

4.1. Life is all about how we commit ourselves on our daily works. As
what the bible taught as our Lord formed us from the dust of the ground and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
We also knew that we are going back to dust after living the live that was
given to us. We have to relish our every moment here on earth. Addition to
that the great philosopher Socrates declared, “The unexamined life is not
worth living.” This simple quote is not just influential to a philosophical mind;
it suggests something deeper and more complex. We have to be realistic and
idealistic as well with our life. We need to appreciate our life and be thankful
to our creator. Socrates had also point out that life is an exceptional thing we
have so we need to be accountable with our life. Life is like a race which has a
lot of hurdles. Those hurdles are called challenges. Those challenges are part
of our life. This makes our life more meaningful as it make as stronger. There
are a lot of challenges that we encounter including our difficulties in school,
financial problems, and family problems. Regardless of those problems we
still have to face it. After overcoming those challenges will make us feel
assured that we could take care of ourselves. It will also help us value our life.
It will leave us experiences that we will treasure. Conquering the challenges
will be our token to keep moving. Life is not just all about the challenges but
 happiness after the encounters. It will be more satisfying to live more as we
had done something great. Life is a roller-costar ride that gives us various
feelings such as happiness, sorrow, victory, defeat, resentment, guilt, and a lot
more. Poor or rich, strong or weak, powerful or powerless, beautiful or ugly,
young or old, whoever or whatever you are you are still blessed for having the
gift of life. No matter what you had done in the past, you will continue to live.
Life is limitless. Life might have ups and downs it will still be up to you how
to live your life.

4.2. We look around our world and wonder why. Life on this planet can
be taken for granted when a species like ours achieves an advanced existence
in which we have no want for food, water or shelter. Fight or flight
mechanisms are no longer of use and they become dusty and unused. Life in
our modern world seems easy, yet in reality it is very fragile and very special.
To examine life is to become more humble and amazed at how grand and
complex life really is. We’ve been granted a gift from above or won an
evolutionary game of chance; we are in possession of a very special and
wondrous thing. We are alive. Life itself is where we find meaning. Decades
of meditation, while spiritually rewarding, is not living. Spending years with
our noses in books, searching, is educationally gratifying but not living. The
meaning of life is to be found in our everyday human experiences. If we spend
our lifetimes wringing our hands, wondering, theorizing and seeking life’s
meaning, we miss the point entirely. The meaning of life is self-defined. We
must live our lives to their fullest extent with the utmost passion and
reverence. We create the parameters of our lives each day by establishing our
own moralities, ethics and spiritualties. Life’s purpose, our purpose, is defined
by the way we treat ourselves and each other. By the way we connect with the
rest of the life that surrounds us. When we achieve that connection, we
discover the meaning of life in a most amazing way. There is a sensation of
peace when we see what is already before us. The meaning of life is simply to
live.
 REFERENCES LIST

Carver, L. (2017, December 7). How to Face a Challenge With Confidence. p. 6.

Emily. (2010). What is the Meaning of Life? Life Goals, 10.

Park, N., Park, M., & Peterson, C. (2010). When is the search for meaning related to life
satisfaction? Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, 2(1), 1–13.

Schnackenburg, R. Christian Existence in the New Testament.

Steger, M. F. (2009). Meaning in life. In S. J. Lopez (Ed.), Handbook of positive

psychology (2nd ed., pp. 679–689). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Steger, M. F., Oishi, S., & Kashdan, T. B. (2009). Meaning in life across the life span:
Levels and correlates of meaning in life from emerging adulthood to older adulthood.
Journal of Positive Psychology, 4, 43–52.

Steger, M. F., Kashdan, T. B., Sullivan, B. A, & Lorentz, D. (2008). Understanding the
search for meaning in life: Personality, cognitive style, and the dynamic between seeking
and experiencing meaning. Journal of Personality, 76(2), 199–228.
doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.2007.00484.x

Steger, M. F., Mann, J. R., Michels, P., & Cooper, T. C. (2009). Meaning in life, anxiety,
depression, and general health among smoking cessation patients. Journal of
psychosomatic research, 67(4), 353–358.

Wolff, H. W. Anthropology of the Old Testament.