The mind boggles. There's only one thing I know for sure. None of us are getting out of this alive!

At age 10, I laid on my tummy in the living room, watching President John F. Kennedy's Inaugural address. When he said, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country," his words hit me right in the center of my little chest.

I got a Master of Public Administration degree because I get the greatest reward from doing work that helps other people.

Since 2006, I have been a volunteer college mentor at Wenatchee High School. I help low income, first generation students write essays for college and scholarship applications. Also I teach them organization and the importance of completing deadlines early.

One of my best success stories is Brenda, who won $269,545 in scholarships in 2016. A sophomore at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, Brenda plans to become a medical doctor and pathologist. She hopes to cure diseases.

Often they are the first person in their family to go to college. It thrills me to send these kids to college.

I'm a rockstar! Last May, I was awarded the first "Scholarship Rockstar" award from the College Mentor Program, Wenatchee High School.

In June 2018, I took three students I previously mentored on a short, beautiful hike around Icicle Gorge.

From the left: Tammy plans to become a neurosurgeon; Elisabeth will be a pediatrician; me, and Teresa, is studying to be an accountant. An enthusiastic community volunteer, Teresa has been asked to run for public office as a Democrat.

Photo #3: I'm second from the left with other volunteer college mentors who won awards.

To me, the meaning of life is to give life meaning. It's just that simple.

Your perspective = my perspective

I think life has whatever meaning we give to it.

42...or if you need meaning, add your own. Otherwise there is none. Just enjoy and be cool to others.

Isn't that the fundamental basis of the "existentialism" and "nihilism"?

If you can make just one living organism's life a little better every day, then I think you have spent your time well.

You make your own meaning, whatever it is that matters to you

I think everyone here should read the book "Finding Purpose in a Godless World: Why We Care Even If the Universe Doesn't" by psychiatrist Ralph Lewis.

I wrote about this extensively in my books. Try going on your roof and staring up at the universe. What meaning could it possibly have and why should it have any meaning? IT JUST IS. [amazon.com]

I totally agree, just live ffs. ✌??

We need purpose / meaning for practical, motivational reasons. Fortunately there's plenty to be found, in the context of your own preferences and desires and needs, even if it's not externally bestowed and handed down from on high.

Ironically, in fact, that's the ONLY kind of meaning there actually IS, even for the religious. They just don't want to admit it.

I am currently finding purpose in deepening my understanding of data manipulation primitives like converting 4 byte integers to byte arrays, converting little-endian to big-endian so they're straightforwardly sortable at the binary level. This would drive many (most?) people to self-harm due to boredom, but it floats my boat. That doesn't make it objectively meaningless to me.

To crush your enemies. See them driven before you. And to hear the lamentations of their women.

I think the "meaning of life" is whatever we want it to be. It's an individual thing.
Mine sometimes changes daily, depending on what I've got going on.
I don't believe, for one second, that there is an over-arching, all-encompassing, "meaning of life".
I'm always highly-suspect of those who claim some philosophical explanation of what THEY think it is. Okay, fine, I am straight-up dismissive of them.

We live to procreate and die.

As to why we exist, I think the question is a deep mystery, probably unfathomable. It is however, a question worthy of being pondered.

So far as whether there is any value in existence—of course there is value. Every second of conscious awareness is a jewel to be savored and appreciated.

Yeah, I think the worries people have like "life has no meaning without a higher power" are just from years of being conditioned to think that way. I was told when I was a child that there was one person I was meant to be married to. Tha made me think there'd be some kind of sign or something that showed me who I was supposed to be with. It really hinders you from making good decisions about things.
I don't feel like life has any kind of pre ordained meaning other than what we give it. I think everyone should work to try and make the world a better place, but I'm sure that's not the same for everyone either.

Not sure there is a meaning of life other than to enjoy it. What else are you going to do? Make yourself miserable? Make others miserable? Enjoy all you can stand. Eat, drink and be merry. Or be yourself, whatever that is.

The meaning or purpose of life is what you yourself give it. It varies between everyone. Some it’s the family and others the career, etc, etc.

If I take a biblical approach here can I ask who was the first disease germ? Can they find that germ and did he have a name? Did it take a second germ for there to then be three germs? How many of these did it take to make a virus? How long did it take? I'm taking the Adam and Eve approach to disease germs here in case you are wondering, but why do so many seem upset if you do not believe the Adam and Eve story?

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? I guess you have to have a chicken to have an egg. Maybe you have to have an egg to have a chicken. Why did the chicken cross the road? To get on the other side. (ha ha) Did the chicken walk across the road or did he roll across? IDK.

We're alive because we are - we die because that's what we do - it's not any more complicated than that.