Life, the Universe and……. Several things

Life is an odd thing, isn’t it? It’s something we all go through, albeit in different circumstances and to different lengths, yet most of us have at some point pondered the thought of exactly what ‘life’ is and why we are here living it. If we are to believe Douglas Adams’ theory then the answer to that is 42, but however tongue-in-cheek his hypothesis may be, unfortunately the answer to this eternal question is never going to be as simple and clear-cut.

I’m no philosopher, even when my mind is relaxed under the influence of alcohol, but the question of what life is all about is indeed a fascinating one. To me it’s less about philosophy in the general sense, but more about how we live our lives on a day-to-day and year-to-year basis. The basic pattern is, of course, that we are conceived, born, we live and then die, and that is something that every single human being that has ever existed (and indeed ever will) has in common. But there’s an infinite uniqueness about each and every human life which generates the fascination with the whole concept.

There’s so much divergence within different civilisations in the world that each of the distinct groups live different lives as entities themselves. The term ‘Western World’ has become known as to mean ‘Developed World’, yet I always see this as a subjective term which ‘we’ (being part of the Western World) bestow upon ourselves, for we see ourselves as being more developed and dare I say more civilised that other races and cultures. But how do other civilisations view themselves, and perhaps more importantly, how do they view us? There are still numerous tribal peoples living in relatively unknown parts of the world such as the Amazonian jungle, but I’m sure most of them have at some point had contact with people from the Western World. If this is true and we can then assume that they are aware of us and know something of how we live, then what images and opinions do they now hold about us? Perhaps we would like to assume that they are in awe of our technology and scientific advances (if indeed they understand them), our (mostly) civilised behaviour and our seemingly unstoppable quest to explore our planet and beyond. But what if they think the opposite? What if they look down on us as being less civilised that they are? Perhaps their simple existence is in fact considerably more civilised, refined and satisfactory that ours? Of course this would also be a subjective view on their part, but it does provoke some interesting conjecture. But I’ve seen enough documentaries on the TV to know that these seemingly primitive groups have their own hierarchy, their own governments and their own law and order, yet they aren’t involved in international warfare, they have no pollution (at least not self-induced) and they certainly don’t suffer from the claustrophobia and stress which affects nearly all of us in the so-called Developed World.

This concept of how we as a human race view each other is part of the wonder that is life itself. Another interesting aspect is how we (and I’m now referring to us in our Developed World) deal with what life throws at us. I’ve already mentioned that we are all born, we live our lives and then we die. Obviously the bit in the middle is the most interesting part (though some would argue that the unknown afterlife – if there is such a thing – is far more interesting), but a lot of it is seemingly bad stuff, something which we’re especially aware of if we’re feeling particularly low. We’ve all been through the shit that life throws at us from time to time, be it bereavement, financial worry, illness and so on, but the fascination is how we deal with these situations and get through them. Part of the reason we do is that we know that it’s not always like that; that life can also be wonderful, full of beauty and awe, full of goodness and love. And that, for me, is really what ‘life’ in its loosest sense is all about. It’s riding out the storms and relaxing in the calms, and never forgetting when you’re down that things will always improve. The irony of the situation is that in a way we need the pain of life to enable us to appreciate the positive aspects of it even more. It’s the joy of life that enables us to deal with the pain, and the pain of life which allows us to appreciate the joy, and as long as they both exist then life will go on. And it’s amazing what seemingly insignificant things can bring such joy to our lives.

I’m not really sure why I decided to write this unusual piece. I’m far from being down at the moment; in fact I’m more positive and happy than I’ve been in a long time, mostly due to being in a new job which I’m enjoying rather than dreading. It’s even helping me to deal with the imminent anniversary of the passing of a loved one.

Life is amazing. Enjoy it, everyone.