1. Give your preference for the following images of life. Rate them
on a scale of 1–5, with 5 indicating that you wholeheartedly
agree, and 1 indicating near-total disagreement. Are there some
(for example, life as disease or frustration) that you think may be
right even though you do not like them? Mark these with an X.
Feel free to add other images of your own.
Life is
a game ———
a story ———
a tragedy ———
a mission ———
comedy ———
art ———
an adventure ———
a disease ———
desire ———
nirvana ———
altruism ———
honor ———
learning ———
suffering ———
an investment ———
relationships ———
2. Suppose one of your friends tells you that the meaning of life is
nothing other than “get yours while you can.” What would you
think of this? Would you try to talk him out of this view of life
as selfishness? How would you do so?
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3. A traditional Native American saying goes “Leave the earth as
you found it.” Many Americans, by way of contrast, are told
that they should “make their mark on the world.” What are the
comparative virtues and vices of these two very different ways of
thinking, and how would you try to reconcile the two? What are
the two very different “meanings of life” that they offer?
