Is there a meaning to life and do I really care?

According to Abraham Maslow, once you have enough to meet your basic needs the human organism tends to turn his or her attention to questions more "substantive" Like, what is the meaning of life? That is his theory. Mine is a little different. I propose that the very asking of the question is a clear indication that you are not living according to the way we are designed, or more accurately, to ask the question indicates that we are not living in a culture, a society or a tribe that is nurturing enough.

Since we are so removed from the experiences of our ancestors, I am merely speculating on nothing more that my (nagging) intuition, but that intuition has been right so often over the years that I have learned to heed it's wisdom a great deal more carefully.

My theory is that we have evolved to need both intellect and intuition to accurately experience life's remarkable wonders. Even more than that, we are not fully human unless we perceive the world with BOTH intellect AND intuition. We, as human beings, are designed to move through this beautiful life with some balance of using both to perceive. In so doing, we feel and know so much more about life than we could ever as simply rational, intellectual beings. How do you REALLY rationally explain the miracle that springs forth from an acorn and (somehow) becomes a giant Sequoia? How do you REALLY explain (with your brain) the difference between the inanimate objects in our surroundings and that which is alive and self-replicating? What does the spark that animates life look like and what is it made of? Are our rational minds capable of understanding this? I see no signs of it.

Do you know that "something" we feel is missing from our lives, but have no name for it? It is a kind of longing that comes from being starved of a flow of knowing that comes from a developed (and trusted) sense of intuition. It also comes from the hole in our heart when we have no community to nurture us. We are alive in this crippled excuse for a society in spite of these longings. Without these connections, it is easy to see how we can wonder, 'why am I here?' But if we were whole beings capable of the full spectrum of knowing, if we could "see" the radiance of all the blessedness that surrounds us and all the love (in all varieties) we have within easy reach, why would we care to ask such a question?

We who feel this pain of loss can at least name it for ourselves and try to find comfort in each other's arms. We can build community. That is a start.

- February, 2006