What Is the Meaning of Life?

I have an answer

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It’s taken humankind thousands of years, but I think I finally have the answer. I know the meaning of life.

For many people, questions about the meaning of life get set aside; but, for us therapists, we encounter them every day. Questioning the meaning of life is part of the human condition, as ubiquitous and basic as walking upright and having opposable thumbs. It preoccupies many of us some of the time but is generally dismissed as an enigmatic and fruitless endeavor. It’s hard to talk about it and even harder to find someone to talk about it with, which is why people talk about it with their shrinks.

Having had so many of these conversations, I’ve stuck with it longer than most. I’m ready to tell you what it is.

The meaning of life is like this:

Imagine you go to a park and join people kicking a ball around. It all seems pointless until you realize you’re in a soccer game. Then everything makes sense. You know what to do. If you have the ball, you try to get it in the other team’s goal. If you don’t, then you get in the way. It’s simple, it’s direct. If you’re in a soccer game, you’ll run until you’re ready to bust a gut. You’ll scream with joy when you score and hang your head when you lose. Chasing a ball for ninety minutes is not meaningless if it’s a soccer…