Being IS Meaning

"People say that what we're all seeking is a meaning for life... I think that what we're really seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonance within our innermost being and reality, so that we can actually feel the rapture of being alive." - Joseph Campbell

An atheist recently told me that he believed that Joseph Campbell was full of shit. That "the whole Hero of a Thousand Faces" thing was just coincidental, because we all enjoy a good storey, and a good storey requires a protagonist - a hero.

As for the Hero's storey, it is universal, but always "winning" is not (the happy ending is a recent thing, traditionally most tales did not end this way). The only "thing" that makes such coincidences "meaningless" is the person making the judgement - same for what makes anything meaningful. For myself, this whole conversation is a "meaningful coincidence". I could tell you that is a fact but I'd be full of shit. It is my opinion. I consciously choose to assume there is meaning, and then I find it! I could care less if somebody else feels they can convince me I am wrong. Such a person thinks life is meaningless so who gives a f@&k what they think since it's all pointless anyways. Arguing the meaning of life with someone who thinks it is meaningless is worse than pointless.

Bliss is God's kiss. It is not procrasturbation. It is the knowledge that all of creation IS praise worthy. To offer praise is to respectfully defer to and offer profound love and reverence. To be an atheist is to be unable to praise yourself. You really cannot praise anything else until you can. The beautiful miracle that is this reality we are experiencing is not all around you, it is you!

This is the manner in which I manipulate my perceptions, my beliefs. Which is preferable to having my perceptions manipulate me. I believe that I would like to live a meaningful, useful, productive and happy life. I do my utmost to root out any beliefs that aren't conducive to that. My time is precious. I don't believe in an after-life and believe reincarnation is irrelevant. I go on the assumption that this will be the only chance to exist I will ever have. I refuse to believe it's pointless. What would be the point of such a belief? Even if you are "right" you still have wasted your life. If you are unable to distinguish the dfference between you and your opinions (beliefs) then you feel driven to convince evreryone that YOU are not wrong, instead of just accepting that others can have different beliefs. Most people are unable to do this. Being able to weed out our beliefs is even harder and more rare. Most of us seem believe we don't believe much and believe we "know" lots.

That is what I choose to believe (at this time) and it works pretty good for me. I am very much happy and grateful to be alive. I have little interest in learning how to be angry, depressed or cynical. I am always glad to hear how others not only make it through life, but how others make life enjoyable.

"Life is without meaning. You bring the meaning to it. The meaning of life is whatever you ascribe it to be. Being alive is the meaning." - Joseph Campbell