Life's Great Mysteries - What is the meaning of life?

Okay, this one is the Big Kahuna of life’s great mysteries. The golden ticket. The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The prize at the bottom of a box of Cracker Jacks. The… well, you get it, right? This one’s a big deal. But am I afraid to address it? No!

Actually, this question has been answered by a few great minds. In Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life, a character opens an envelope containing the meaning of life. The character reads the contents: “Well, it's nothing very special. Uh, try to be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try to live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.” Honestly, that’s a pretty good answer, in my opinion. In A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a giant computer named Deep Thought takes 7.5 million years to contemplate this question, and it finally reveals the answer: 42.

If you turn to a dictionary for the meaning of life, you’ll get something like: “The condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death.” But this isn’t very satisfying, is it?

The question has been answered in countless ways, and the answers depend on the lens through which a person views the question. Some people think it has to do with our potential and our ideals, and their answer might be: to live your dreams, or to expand your potential in life. Some people consider the biological aspects, and their answer might be: to survive, or to evolve, or to reproduce. Some people are concerned about wisdom, and their answer might be: to learn as many things as possible, or to seek out a reason to live. Some people are most concerned about being good, and their answer might be: to leave the world a better place than you found it, or to be honorable. Some people approach the question in a religious sense, and their answer might be: to understand the mystery of God, or to have a pure soul and experience God. Some people are focused on happiness, and their answer might be: to seek beauty in all its forms, or to enjoy every moment of life. Some people are all about power and self-improvement, and their answer might be: to know and master the world, or to strive for power and superiority. Some people believe that life simply has no meaning, and their answer might be: humans evolved randomly, and therefore there is no purpose or meaning, or… there is no meaning, and that’s what makes life so special. Finally, some people think we shouldn’t even try to answer the question at all… they might say: the answer is too profound and cannot be understood, or… you will never live if you spend all your time seeking the meaning of life.
So, what are we to conclude? It seems to me that the answer is different for every person on Earth. You must find your own meaning. Darn it! Then how are we supposed to get it right on the test?

Here is my own answer (although it could change as I change):

Human life, having evolved by natural selection, has no predetermined meaning. However, we are fortunate to have the cognitive capability to contemplate our existence. Therefore, it would be a shame to squander this amazing evolutionary superpower. Humans are capable of making their own happiness, although the ingredients for such happiness are different for each human, as it should be. Personally, my purpose—the meaning of my life—is to achieve happiness and satisfaction. How? By striving to be a role model for others, by helping those who need my help, by loving my wife, kids, and others in my family, by experiencing and nurturing my awe of the natural world, by creating stories that entertain people, and by learning new and fascinating things.

Anyway, there is definitely an answer to this age-old question. There is meaning to life, and it isn’t 42. It is something different for every person.