The only problem with life is being conscious.
While the ancients may have believed that “…the unexamined life is not worth living”, experience has shown me that an examined life brings mainly torment, anxiety, and a feeling of not quite fitting in. This relates to relationships, nature, and existence itself. There is nothing magical about coupling and reproducing. There is nothing magical about our interdependence with nature. There is nothing exceptional about being alone in the universe—either with or without a Creator. It is life unfolding. Our awareness of this unfolding brings about wonder but also a yearning to find meaning; therein lies our angst.
Perhaps we, as sentient beings, are on a continuum of evolution and this is only a stage in our awareness. Seen over thousands of years, our ability to understand and interpret the world around us (and each other) will increase as we evolve. We have been gathering the necessary tools to do this over the last 5,000 years. We may continue to do so for 5,000 more. If this is true, life is about the journey and not the destination—as none of us will see the end in our lifetimes.
This is not necessarily a bad thing as it allows us to put our existentialism angst into perspective.
While the ancients may have believed that “…the unexamined life is not worth living”, experience has shown me that an examined life brings mainly torment, anxiety, and a feeling of not quite fitting in. This relates to relationships, nature, and existence itself. There is nothing magical about coupling and reproducing. There is nothing magical about our interdependence with nature. There is nothing exceptional about being alone in the universe—either with or without a Creator. It is life unfolding. Our awareness of this unfolding brings about wonder but also a yearning to find meaning; therein lies our angst.
Perhaps we, as sentient beings, are on a continuum of evolution and this is only a stage in our awareness. Seen over thousands of years, our ability to understand and interpret the world around us (and each other) will increase as we evolve. We have been gathering the necessary tools to do this over the last 5,000 years. We may continue to do so for 5,000 more. If this is true, life is about the journey and not the destination—as none of us will see the end in our lifetimes.
This is not necessarily a bad thing as it allows us to put our existentialism angst into perspective.
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