To live is to die
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Where else may my path be taking me? How stupid it is, this path of mine, it goes in loops. For all I know, it’s going in a circle. Let it lead where it will, I shall follow it. _____________________________________________________
Inspired by the book Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse (see quote above) and the beautiful song To live is to die by Imaginary Future, today I want to talk about the meaning of life.
Let me cut right to the chase: I don’t think life was ever meant to be a straight line going from beginning to end. Much rather life has taught me that it comes and goes in waves: Sometimes I will be surfing on the waves in full control, sometimes I will be crushed by them and buried underneath and sometimes I will be reminded to simply let go and be carried away into the unknown…
With each wave that comes I think we get a chance to start over and over again. You might call it a new phase of life, the start of the next chapter, the beginning of something new — it doesn’t matter; I think it all gives us space to grow, opportunity to evolve and a chance to do things differently. That being said, in order to do so, I think (and I don’t think you will like this) we must also die over and over and over again.
It might sound scary at first but trust me (if you want to), there’s more to it. Just hear me out for a second.
So far in my life I have died many times. I have refused to grow up, been forced to grow up and chosen to grow up. At times my path might have seemed stupid and I might even have thought it was going in loops; like going in a circle, filled with repeated hard lessons, sacrifices and heartbreaks…
The truth is that, even though my life might have gone in loops, I myself have never been the same. In each loop I was a different person. I had lived and then died and therefore approached each loop in different ways, with different ideas and goals in mind. With everything I experienced, including the good and the bad, I were brought closer to an end and, inevitably, closer to a new beginning.
And I think this is it: The meaning of life.
Depending on how old you are and on how you count, you have died many times in your life, too. These are great news! Why? Because you have lived all of your past lives to come alive again today (or tomorrow or next month or year) as a new, levelled up version of yourself. From here, everything is possible. Congratulations!
No matter where this path will lead you, let it lead where it will: You shall follow it! Just know that you are not alone in this. In some way or another, we are all either surfing, swimming or simply floating our ways through life. Not because we have to but because we choose to.
At a second glance is sounds kind of exciting too, doesn’t it?
