What is the meaning of life? – Some thoughts
This article was originally published in German. The English version is an automatic translation and may contain errors. The German original is authoritative.
In Japanese, life's purpose or what makes life worth living is called ikigai. Literally translated: life's worth (iki for "life" and gai for "worth"). It is claimed that once a person finds their ikigai, they can achieve inner balance and a state of inner contentment. Nowhere do people grow old as happily as on the island of Okinawa in southern Japan. There must be something true to the power and joy of life through ikigai. The ikigai model consists of four subject areas that form four circles, and the intersection of these is the path to your personal ikigai. The philosophical ideas behind the model form a kind of guide to greater happiness and a more contented life.
Do models of this kind, however, really answer the difficult question about the meaning of life?
Often it is said that one should not ask oneself this question about the meaning of (one's own) life in the first place. For how is one supposed to cope with the realisation if one cannot find an answer for the moment? Is it then better not to think about it at all? That would mean one is happier if one never starts searching for a supposed life purpose. Without the weight of this question, one's own life is thus easier and simpler to enjoy. But once the thought is in one's own head, it is usually complicated to banish it.
It all depends on what kind of person you are. Depending on what your own ideas and moral values are, the search for the meaning behind everything will affect your own quality of life. The question most likely has more answers than people exist, and in general terms none is right or wrong. Goethe himself said: "The meaning of life is life itself". It seems as though every known personality has grappled with this question, as there are seemingly endless quotations and statements about the meaning of life.
Scientifically, our life purpose is motivated by evolution, but are we truly only determined by our reproductive and self-preservation instinct? There are the most varied answers to this question – whether in religion, philosophy or psychology.
Why are you actually searching for a life purpose? Simply give your life a meaning yourself. The search for life purpose is often closely related to the question of fate. Does it make sense where and who we are? Is our path predetermined or does everything arise from chance?
One's own purpose is meant to serve as a reinforcement of one's own person and as a guide for future actions. In doing so, one protects and motivates oneself at the same time. But as soon as one experiences true joy and true happiness, the thought about meaning is far away and one lives in the moment. Very often the question about one's own life purpose emerges in particularly difficult situations or in scenarios where one simply does not know how to proceed. The question can make one melancholic from time to time. But melancholy is not necessarily only bad; the state of mind certainly moves one towards profound reflection and insights. Rather, melancholy is to be understood as a sublime state of mind that stands out from all other emotional states both in its beauty and sadness.
According to Wikipedia, the question about the meaning of life is "the interpretation of the relationship in which man stands to his world". Asking oneself where one currently stands and either learning to feel comfortable there, or trying to break out of it, is always worth considering. Likewise, it is never wrong to think about the meaning of life from time to time. However, in the search for an answer, one should never forget to actually live one's own life.
Ultimately, I would like to note that this article in no way recommends a particular interpretation of life's meaning. Rather, I wanted to give you food for thought to discover your own very personal answer to this question.