What Is the Meaning of Life?

I remember when people used to ask this question to Siri, and of course Siri would have a programmed, set and limited amount of responses to this particular question. You would ask "Siri, what's the meaning of life?" and Siri would respond with "I don't know, but I think there's an app for that." You would ask Siri again, and she would respond with "42," you would ask a few more times, only to receive the same answers, then have your attention snatched when Siri catches you off guard and gives you a different response that you weren't expecting her to give you, like "Life: a principle or force considered to underlie the distinctive quality of animate beings. I guess that includes me."

What is the meaning of life? My Dad said to me, one sunny afternoon in the car that he had thought for a really long time about it, and reached the conclusion that, the ultimate meaning of life, quite simply, is "to live." Meaning that living your life, and taking each day as it comes would be his perspective on the meaning of life.

Many others are influenced either by their upbringing or their religion and some people will tell you that the meaning of life is to "serve God and obey his commandments." An atheist would tell you something completely different. If you asked someone who is considered a new age spiritual "guru", such as the likes of Ralph Smart (AKA Infinite Waters), Gabriel Kundalini or Teal Swan, their overall collective answers would be that the meaning of life is to learn the lessons that you are destined to learn in this lifetime, to experience the hardships that your soul and spirit need to experience in this lifetime, as the most growth and positive change comes from going through hard times, and coming out a better and wiser person having learned the lessons you have, and surviving the tests you've been put through.

They would also tell you that the meaning of life is to achieve a state of nirvana, to achieve a state of higher consciousness where your ego is dissolved, and your higher self is at the forefront, where your decisions are based from a place of goodwill and pure intent to where your spiritual body is well aligned and "in tune." To become as balanced, wise, enlightened, and as un-judgemental a person as possible, to shift your perception to one that is best for your spiritual growth and expansion, and so on.

If you were to ask a scientist, they would tell you something like: "Life is defined as the state or quality that distinguishes living beings or organisms from dead ones, and from inorganic matter, characterized chiefly by metabolism, growth, and the ability to reproduce and respond to stimuli."

And if you were to ask me, I would tell you that the meaning of life is to experience as much as possible, and learn as much as possible so you can reach a stage of spiritual enlightenment where your soul has evolved as much as it possibly could in this lifetime, that you experience those hardships in your life so that when you come out on the other end, as a stronger and wiser spiritual being having a human experience that you have a beyond shocking and beyond inspiring story to tell everyone. To grow as much as you can, and to impact as many peoples' lives as possible, to achieve happiness in your life to the highest degree, providing it does not bring harm to anyone. We are all here to live up to our fullest potential and achieve everything that we've ever wanted to. Until then, our lives are not over. Our souls and spirits are like a sponge that keeps what it needs, and releases what it doesn't want if you know how to stay in tune with what it needs—that is.

That brings me to the ultimate question you came here for: what is the meaning of life? The answer is that the meaning of life differs from person to person, but the main principles everyone can agree on is that life is there to live through, no matter what it throws at you, because no one became great through having everything handed to them on a silver plate. Real evolution comes from pain and hard times, to do whatever it is you came here to do (usually happens to be what you're naturally talented or good at), to become as wise as you can, and to be the best version of yourself that you possibly can become.