The Meaning of Life

Today I'm only going to write one post, and then get some sleep; I have to wake up early Monday and then begin my school sleep cycle again (midnight till 6 or 7). So, I picked a nice little bit of philosophy: the Meaning of Life. I reserve the right to write more about this at any time until my death however.

To begin, we must consider what the 'Meaning of Life' is. Is it '42'? Is there some definite answer? No. The meaning of life can be considered in two contexts.

I'll preface them by saying that the product and motivation for the meaning of lie is happiness. At the end of the day a person who has truly achieved the meaning of life is happy, and no matter what we do, we consider what will make us the most happy. People have different ways of doing this; some will not be happy if they don't stick by their moral code (they won't be able to live with themselves and thus won't be happy). For others, happy is getting your next high. Some people want to be president, a spaceman, have children. It depends.

The first context is achieved by asking the question "what can I d0 to make myself most happy." Frankly, if I knew the answer to that I'd be pretty happy, and I'd tell you, and I'd probably be able to sell it and get rich and/or famous. (Hint: that was foreshadowing!) One group of people who do seem to know all the answers is hollywood however, pretty much every chick flick (yes. I live with 3 women. 10, 13, 40 something. I watch a few too many) And movie for kids (see the 10 year old sister and/or HS musical, which you've watched as well) and a lot of the college/high school movies (someone dates another person on a dare/for revenge, ends up falling in love, they break up because the other person found out, then get back together (wedding crashers- pretty much the same. They're in it for the girls, but then they meet ones they actually like) (notice how all the movies you've ever watched are now the same)). Has the same message: follow your heart, don't become a rich stock broker like your rich daddy wants you too (or a doctor, etc.- be a (insert every sporting event from disney channel movies (jump roping I remember seeing adds for). Yeah. I think i'll write about that later. Anways. For answers, consider asking hollywood, but I'm not going to promise that they're right.

Right. Anyways, the one I'm actually going to write about is the more scientific context, framed by the questions "What motivates people to do what they do" and "How can I predict a persons actions". Now. Overarching goal of all actions: happiness. Sure it doesn't always work, but thats what the person was aiming for. Maybe it was short term happiness, and thats why they're not happy now. Maybe it's long term happiness, and thats why they'll be happy in twenty years. Anyways, until you're out of high school, you'll be protected from this. People go to high school to go to college to (possibly insert grad school) get a good job to get rich. At least, thats the stereotypical career path, and frankly thats at least what people are trying to do (right now, I'm at that state), on some level. At least the stupid ones that is. Because inevitably, people are pretty successful (contrary to popular opinion, if you work hard, this isn't so hard in America). And they turn forty, or fifty, and realize they're working sixty to a hundred hours a week, or working from 7pm till 3am, or always on call, and it's destroying their family. And then they realize that, as 'great' as their life is, they work 100 hours a week, are always on call, and never see their children. Then they have a 'midlife crisis'. Because they realize something about why they wake up in the morning.
First: you wake up to go to school, because your parents make you
Second: you wake up to go to school because you want to be succesful
Third: you wake up to go to work because you want to be succesful...
and you are. And you still have to wake up really early.
So, when you make a decision, a job, consider "Will I be able to get up in the morning, will I want to get up in the morning, will it be worth it? Will it, in the long run, make me happy?" Most importantly, "Will I have/survive a midlife crisis?"

Moving on, I still haven't answered the question of what motivates people. I think people can be grouped into two or three groups

1. Power
   Just so we're clear. Power is money, as well as true power. This group consists of people who are made happy by power. That means being able to manipulate other people, put them down, or rule them. For example, the infamous cliques. The leader is someone who wants to manipulate people, and put them down. Those who follow grab on to their coattails; by allowing the leader to manipulate them, they can in turn manipulate others. And hence government; at every level control. We can pretend that Clinton and Guliani truly care about our country, and they do. But they also want power. They want to be in charge. It can also be abusive spouses or parents, who want someone they control; either their spouse, or perhaps their children.
2. 'Leaving Your Mark'
   These are the people who want to do one of two things; be remembered, or change the world. By changing the world, they can, if not be remembered, know that there will be evidence they were there. These are the people who donate to charity/devote their lives to charity. I truly hope there are a few of these in our government.
3. Children
   These are in a way a subdomain of the 'Markists' (haha, get it? I'm not sure I agree with what I insinuated, but, meh). I wrote 'two or three' because in a way these people have children so the children can be their marks on the world. They then work to improve the lives of their children. However, in some ways, they are the 'Power' group because children can be viewed as an extension of their parents, and they work to give power to their children/selves
4. The Inbetweens
   Some people work for charity because they are philanthropists at heart. But they might do it for public image (example: Bill Gates being time man of the year was probably good for his reputation, and even his company). They might do it because they do then head a powerful organization (In no way am I insinuating that charities/the government have anything but the people's best interests at hear *cough*)

I'll conclude that everything I just said is completely unwarranted, and possibly disagreeable to you. Therefore, I based all of my reasoning to arrive at the above off the following analysis:

1. People work to better the lives of their children
2. People have mid life crises and want to do their hobbies, and get closer to their families
3. People try to get rich and powerful

And I think just about everything can be boiled down to the above. Even purely charitable actions (being nice, 1. makes people nicer to you, hence power, in a way, and second, the midlife crisis problem, whereby people want to be able to live with themselves)

Extrapolate differently from that, or else argue with the analysis, but tell me what you think in the comments.

Note: I don't capitalize things that should be unless I respect them.
Also: I'll probably write about religion next, and the two are really intertwined

With just a couple nights left in the frozen waste land (jk) that is Minneapolis
Good Night, I hope something I wrote helps you,
-Ravi Charan