Zero to 1: What is the Meaning of Life? Attention, Meaning, & Morality

6 INSIGHTS

I.

We live in the present moment, however most of the time our mind plays out scenarios where we imagine the past or future and then experience our own simulation.

II.

We give meaning to everything we experience in the moment, including our past and future projections.

III.

The meaning we give defines our relationships.

IV.

Our relationship with life, what we believe to be true, what we value, and the meaning we give things inform our relationship with life and our attitude toward it.

V.

Our attitude is our lived experience. It's how we feel in the moment. It's our actual life.

VI.

This is how we give meaning to our world.

So morality starts at the level of attention. Where you put your attention and what meaning you give it is a moral act.

3 Quotes

I.

"Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced." Søren Kierkegaard

II.

"The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware." Henry Miller

III.

"The meaning of life is whatever you ascribe it to be. Being alive is the meaning." —Joseph Campbell

1 Question

Asking 'What is the meaning of life?' is like asking what the meaning of a melody or a beautiful sunset is. Meaning does not come from the outside but is lived and experienced from the inside out.

Instead, ask, “What meaning am I giving to life? What is my relationship with my world?