Taken to one extreme or the next…
It’s always either right
Or completely entirely left.

One may see life like a virgin,
Naïve despite her depth,
In that life is still so good,
One day can never compare to the next.

Another may look on it with spite,
And think they’ve nothing left,
That the only new adventure
Is to explore their own death.

Could there be a medium?
A dream that quietly beckons
For us to see it as it is:
An encouragement to take our next step.

The Questioning Mind

The search for the meaning of life has followed us since the dawn of thought. From the forest sages of the Vedas to modern philosophers, the question remains: Why are we here? What is this all for?

Some say it is a cliché, because it has been asked too often. But perhaps it is precisely because the question returns, generation after generation, that it is the most important one.

Vedic Discoveries

The Upanishads did not shy away from this inquiry. They taught that life is not random, but a journey of self-discovery: the search for ātman (the self) and its unity with brahman (the infinite).

“From the unreal, lead me to the real. From darkness, lead me to light. From death, lead me to immortality.”
This ancient prayer suggests that the meaning of life is not found in clinging to extremes — naïve delight or despairing nihilism — but in walking the path toward truth, light, and the eternal.

Philosophers and Poets

Philosophers across time echoed this search.

• Socrates claimed that the unexamined life is not worth living — that meaning comes from inquiry.
• Nietzsche asked us to embrace life as it is, with all its suffering, as an eternal recurrence.
• Camus saw life as absurd, but urged us to live as though our choices still matter.

Each perspective is a lens, but none is final. Meaning is not given; it is made, moment by moment.

Finding the Medium

The extremes are tempting. One day may feel infinitely beautiful, another unbearably heavy. But perhaps life’s meaning is not in escaping the highs or the lows, but in moving through them with awareness.

To see life “as is” — not as fantasy or despair — is to allow it to encourage us toward the next step. Every day is a chance to expand perspective, to live closer to truth, to create with intention.

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As someone still finding my path, I feel the meaning of life is less about fixed answers and more about steady movement. Each step forward, each question asked, each act of courage or compassion, shapes the meaning of this short span we call life.

Perhaps the cliché is not that we search for meaning. The cliché is in pretending we already know.

When you ask yourself “What is the meaning of my life?” — do you lean toward delight, despair, or something in between? And how might your next step reveal a little more of the truth?

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