The Meaning of Life
1. Fill in the blank: “Life is _______________________________.”
Some examples:
Life is a puzzle, except that you don’t know what the picture
is supposed to look like, and you don’t even know if you’ve
got all the pieces.
Life is a maze, except that you try to avoid the exit.
Life is a poker game. (It requires luck, but you can win with
a high pair and you can lose with a flush.)
Life is win or lose. A few people win. Most are losers.
Life is an adventure.
Life is a learning experience.
Life is a blessing.
Life is suffering.
What does your answer say about you and how you see
yourself? What are your ultimate goals? Expectations?
Hopes? Fears?
2. Suppose an angel is sitting on a cloud, watching the parade of
human activities below—the way we would watch a colony of
ants hurrying along in their daily business. What would the
angel say about the flurry of activity? What would it amount to,
in the angel’s eyes?
3. Name three or four things that you would not like to leave
undone at your death. How many of these things have you already
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The Meaning of Life
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Chapter 2–The Meaning of Life
accomplished or begun? Which of these things could you now be
doing, but are not? (Why not?)
4. The philosopher Albert Camus suggested that life is like the task
of the Greek mythological hero Sisyphus, who was condemned
to roll a rock up a mountain, only to have it fall back again; and
he had to do this forever. Is life indeed like this? How?
