I have always thought about the meaning of life as something we find along the way of living our lives. I thought meaningful experiences are what give meaning to life. I can, for instance, look back and say “my life is meaningful because I have loved and known my children.” But, what if life can lose some meaning it once had?
I’m contemplating this possibility because I’m reading Jean Paul Sartre’s short story, The Wall from 1939. It is a about two men spending their last night together before they will be executed at dawn, by shooting.
In the midst of utter panic and terror, one of the two men, Pablo Ibbieta, makes this striking observation about his life.
I felt that I had my whole life in front of me and I thought, “It’s a damned lie.” It was worth nothing because it was finished. … My life was in front of me, shut, closed, like a bag and yet everything inside of it was unfinished.
We get a peak into Pablo’s mind as he thinks back at his life and remembers people he once loved, knew, and cared for. Now, facing death by execution, he realizes that they no longer mean anything to him. They are like nothing to him. Just some insignificant dots on the tapestry of life that looks like one big lie.
This makes me wonder if the same thing would happen to me if I felt the long arms of death suddenly tightening around my throat. That is, could death rob my life of the meaning it already has? Could death rob your life of the meaning?
Perhaps there is another question we need to answer first. Namely this one: What exactly is the meaning of life? I suspect that if Sartre has a point, and if it is true that life can lose some meaning it already has, then we need to look for a meaning over which death does not have power. Or?
So, tell me, what is the meaning of life?
Related Posts:
- Do You Know Why You Want to Live?
- Why Do We Hope in Heaven in the First Place?
- How Long Can You Wait?
(Photo: Hel Des)
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Yes, I think death could rob my life of meaning. I am thinking about someone who lived a very wealthy life. They always had everything they wanted. And then suddenly when they are dying, it fades into nothing. It is all revealed as not really worth anything. Wouldn’t that be a tremendous loss? A loss of meaning? Yes, I think so. So sad.