Preamble
During my meditation this morning, I thought about how much of privilege it is to be able to write, not only for myself but for anyone who might stumble upon these thoughts – friends, strangers, admirers, enemies… you are all welcome.
Another thought is that hundreds if not thousands of people with far superior faculties that I, have contemplated and written about this subject. Therefore, I feel a sense of futility in starting this journey.
But then again, this is often the problem with our relationship with knowledge. We tend to treat knowledge as though the first person to acquire or discover it has a monogamous right over it. For this reason, scholars lust over knowledge, particularly the notion of original ideas. Meanwhile, students feel unworthy until they discover something new.
A healthier relationship with knowledge, however, is analogous with mountain climbing. Scores of people climb the same old mountains. Yet, no matter how many summit and talk about their triumphs, their experience and the life lessons cannot be transferred, except through climbing the mountains yourself.
Therefore, I choose to climb this intellectual Mount Everest. If anything, just to say that I did – or at the very least, I tried.
What do we mean by meaning?
I know someone who achieved many things that a lot of us could only wish for. He travelled the world many times over, wined and dined and did all the other things that we frown upon in public, but fantasize about when we day-dream. Then he killed himself.
In his suicide note, he lamented the meaninglessness of life. He argued that pretending as though our pursuits are meaningful is the only hope for finding meaning. He martyred the notion that meaning is something we infuse into life, rather than something that is inherent in life.
I guess this is something worth thinking about.
Continues in #3
