The Meaning of Life
It’s really quite simple once you sort it all out
As we age, we’re more and more likely to ponder the meaning of life and our final fate. Now that I’m in my seventies, I, too, have recently spent time in such spiritual pursuits.
Monty Python sought the answer in “The Meaning of Life.” Douglas Adams did likewise in “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” wherein a supercomputer tasked with the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything came up with the answer 42.
On her deathbed, Gertrude Stein asked, “What is the answer?” and, receiving no response, asked, “In that case, what is the question?”
All these are admirable attempts but ultimately unsatisfying. So I ventured on my own intellectual journey.
The easy part was coming up with a final question à la Gertrude Stein: “What happens when we die?” The difficult part was determining an accurate answer.
Short of dying and resuscitating myself, I was initially at a loss as to how to attack the question. Initially, I scoured the ancient Greek philosophers and their Western successors.
Finding little help, I then investigated Eastern philosophers and the scriptures of the world’s major religions. Still no luck.
