You'll Only Find Meaning When You Stop Looking

we often hear people say that you'll only find love when you're not looking, but what if that idea applies to other aspects of life as well?

It is human nature to ponder on the significance of things including our own lives. We reflect and analyze and compare and contrast and have complex systems in our society and in our mind to organize people, information, resources, and power. We think these systems help us live the most meaningful lives possible, yet many of us still feel empty. What if the first mistake was assuming that our lives even have meaning in the first place? Roman philosopher Lucretius in his epic poem On the Nature of the Universe, reflects on the patterns of the atoms in the universe and how it affects our lives on a large and small scale. He takes the stance that we are just atoms that are being cycled and recycled throughout the universe and that since our life has little to no significance, that death is not a negative thing, but an objective one. A claim like this seems easy to make, but difficult to carry out. We all know that death is an inevitable part of life; it is the only aspect of life that is guaranteed, but most of us still dread it. We all want to live a meaningful life, but in order to make that happen, we think we need to take our life seriously and form an emotional attachment to it. However, when an emotional attachment to life has been created, it makes the prospect of death that much drearier. In order to not fear death, a detachment to one’s own life must be formed. However, if a detachment to life is built, then one must not feel like pursuing meaning because What’s the point? Lucretius argues that one must view life and death objectively, as a rearranging of atoms, yet he also writes about how a good life can still be lived and meaning can still be found. If life and death are to be looked at objectively, then why does the concept of a “good life” exist? Is it possible for one to be aware of their own insignificance and still live a meaningful life? How does one find meaning in such a temporary and mysterious existence?

Our world operates on a human-centric model. Our brains are designed to put ourselves and our species in the center of our attention, while everything else takes a secondary stance. For this reason, we tend to forget that we, not only as individuals, but as a species will cease to exist and nothing any human has ever done will mean anything. In Lucretius’s words, “Nature creates, increases, nourishes / All things that are, and into which again / Nature dissolves them when their time has come.” (I.57-59) He takes the stance that matter keeps recycling itself for the rest of eternity and for this reason, death is not something good or bad, it is just a part of the natural universal cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. This implies that the human life is meaningless. That we are brought into existence without our consent and obliterated from existence in the same manner, that we are made of atoms that don’t belong to us. The fact that a word like “meaningless” even exists, not only indicates that there are things in the universe that do have meaning, but that meaning is the default state of things. We think of the universe as everything having meaning unless indicated otherwise. But what is meaning? Is it the end goal, or the reason why anything happens? If it is the end goal, then is meaning destruction, or for humans, death? But after death, comes a rebirth, and according to Lucretius, every atom in the universe keeps cycling and recycling through space for eternity, so therefore there really is no end goal. An infinite cycle cannot have an end. The end for us is death, but the end in general doesn’t exist. Similarly, a meaning for us, on a small scale, does exist, in the form of death, but in general, on a large scale, it doesn’t exist. If we assign meaning to our death, then we are also assigning meaning to our life. If meaning is the “end goal” then on a large scale, there is no meaning because there is no end, and on a small scale, it is up to the individual to decide if they want their life to have meaning or not. If meaning is not an end goal, but the reason why something happens, then the meaning of life can be known if the reason why atoms keep cycling and recycling can be known. But does everything that happens have to have a reason, or can things just happen randomly? It is human nature to assign purpose to things and look for patterns regardless of whether or not they actually exist. We are deterministic beings and the idea of things just happening without any rhyme or reason tends to drive us insane. We like to come up with a narrative so we don’t have to deal with the dreary notion that everything in the universe occurs purely of chaos. Just because humans tend to operate on the idea of meaning doesn’t necessarily mean that’s the way the universe operates. Lucretius states, “…fear holds so much the minds of men / Because they see many things happen in earth and sky / Of which they can by no means see the causes, / And think them to be done by power divine.” (I.150-153) We are terrified of the unknown, and death is the biggest unknown there is, along with the creation and extremities of the universe. If the meaning of life is defined by why we have a life, then the meaning of life can never be known by any human. There may not even be a why. Everything that happens could be random, but since it creates immense fear in us that everything that happens in the universe is a fluke, we assign a purpose to it, regardless of whether or not there is one. Whether the meaning of life is the end goal or the purpose, both theories yield the same result: life on a universal scale is meaningless-meaningless either because it is devoid of the concept of a meaning, or because the concept of a meaning doesn’t truly exist-but life on an individual scale can have meaning to the individual if they so choose to create one. But why do we need to create meaning? Is it more beneficial to live a meaningful life, or should we live like other animal species: just live, carry out all our biological functions, and die? And if a life should be meaningful, then what would that look like?

The main reason why we feel the need to live a meaningful life is because we know that it is short and we only get one. Our primal fear of death is the reason we bother to do anything outside of our biologically programmed instincts. Death is viewed as a tragedy, something to fear and grieve. Even if someone dies in the best conditions possible, it is still sad despite the fact that everyone knows that it will happen to everyone at some point. Death is considered sad because it is the end of the life and time on this planet that we have grown so emotionally attached to and it is feared because it is unknown. Lucretius says “…if men could but see / A sure end to their woes, somehow they’ld find the strength” (I.107-108) because we are able to endure anything if we know about the end goal. Since we don’t know anything about death, the fact that we are all temporary hangs over us like a small raincloud that follows us around our whole lives. “Men have no way, no power / To stand against them, since they needs must fear / In death a never-ending punishment. / They do not know the nature of the soul…” (I.110-114) and because of this constant anxiety about death, we look upon it negatively because we do not know what it is and it is the end of the thing we treasure the most. Although this fear of death is biologically ingrained to us, is it really the best way to live? We dread death because our life has meaning to us and we don’t want it to end. But is this constant fear of death worth the idea of having a meaningful life? If we didn’t attach meaning to our life, then we wouldn’t oppose death to this extent. Lucretius portrays death as neutral, an inevitable in the stage of this universal, eternal cycle and consistently states throughout Book I that nothing comes from nothing and that nothing can be reduced to nothing. He views humans not as human beings, but as a clump of atoms that will regenerate once our time here is done. He acknowledges the existence of a soul and states that we do not know whether it is born with us or makes its way into us after, whether it perishes with us or makes its way into other creatures. However, if nothing can be reduced to nothing, then “Nature forbids that anything should perish” (I.225), therefore, like any other part of us, the soul should regenerate into something else after we die. Lucretius only a briefly mentions of a soul, the only thing that separates living beings from inanimate objects, looks at death objectively in that he groups together all types of atoms, whether they are part of a living being or not, and says that they all, “change their nature and transform themselves” (I.678). By this reasoning, on a universal scale, there would be no difference between a human or a chair. Or since we don’t know the nature of the soul-whether it regenerates, and if so, then how-then we don’t know what the difference between a living being and an inanimate object is. Lucretius himself asks, “What are we then to say about those atoms / Which give the human its character?” (II.974-975) On an earthly scale, we know that living beings are anything that are alive and that can die, but according to Lucretius, every atom regenerates and the universal cycle of atoms applies the same to everything whether they are creatures or. On a universal scale, there would be no difference between a human and a chair. Lucretius objectivity to the human life and death may seem disconcerting at first glance, because we want to feel more important than an inanimate object, but what if this acknowledgement of our own insignificance can ironically lead us to a more meaningful life. One who views their own life and place in the universe objectively would have less dread regarding death. Our fear of death is what motivates us to accomplish, experience, and cherish the things we do in life. However, despite this fear of death, and this knowledge that we only get one short life on Earth, many people become paralyzed with anxiety regarding their life. With the scarcity mindset of only getting one opportunity, we tend to second guess our life decisions and even if we are satisfied, there is always the lingering question of whether there is something better out there. If one were aware of their own insignificance and looked at death objectively, then they would be aware as their place in the universe: a clump of atoms that was created from something else and will, at some point, regenerate into something else, then they would be grateful of whatever time they have on this planet and make the most of every second. Life is viewed as the default whereas death is something that causes one to stray from the default. But what if the default was not existing, and the straying from the norm is that we are lucky enough to have some time to exist. Stressing about making life the most meaningful experience possible, is living the future, when there is no guarantee that the future exists. There is no guarantee that we will even be alive tomorrow. The only thing we can be certain of is this current moment. If death is feared, that puts more pressure on life. If death is not feared every moment will be savored with gratitude as, even if things don’t go as planned, you are aware of your insignificance and don’t feel like the universe owes you anything. Embracing one’s own insignificance can ironically make life more meaningful because the pressure is off which allows them to live in the moment rather than constantly think about the future. This is easier said than done as humans don’t handle well the prospect of the unknown. Does then, our ability to use our imagination to fabricate an alternate reality help to fear death less while also making life more meaningful?

Lucretius starts off On the Nature of the Universe with, “O mother of the Roman race, delight / Of men and gods, Venus most bountiful,” (I.1-2) which is an interesting way to start a poem about a seemingly objective poem about the functions of the universe. If everything is atoms that are constantly regenerated in an eternal cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, and nothing can come from nothing, and nothing can ever truly perish, where does religion play into all of this? Lucretius takes the emotion out of life and death like it is a neutral part of a cycle such as trees shedding their leaves in the fall. So why does he cite religion so frequently throughout his work? As mentioned earlier Lucretius states that, “…fear holds so much the minds of men / Because they see many things happen in earth and sky / Of which they can by no means see the causes...” (I.150-153) and he also says, “…that without the power of gods / Nature could never match the needs of men” (II. 168-169). As humans fear the unknown, and the operations of nature are, for the most part, unknown, we need to use our imagination to fill in the blanks in order to provide us with a peace of mind. This is where religion comes into play. Religion is a philosophy on how we should live our lives and this philosophy is backed up with a fantastical narrative that we choose to believe. Lucretius, referring to the goddess Venus says, “…you and only you are nature’s guide…” (I.20). His narrative to back up the operations of the universe is about the goddess Venus. Different narratives resonate differently with different people. Lucretius believes that we shouldn’t overstate the importance of life and death, yet he also makes religious references throughout the entire text. Does this mean religion helps us not take our existence too seriously, or does it make us take our existence more seriously? Lucretius says that, “When human life lay foul for all to see / Upon the earth, crushed by the burden of religion / Religion which from heaven’s firmament / Displayed its face, ghastly countenance / Lowering above mankind, the first who dared / Raise mortal eyes against it…” (I. 62-67) so he views religion as harmful, yet he still relies on it. He says portrays religion as a villain with a “ghastly” facial expression, as something grim, something that puts a dark cloud over a person’s life. What makes Lucretius so against religion? He advocates for a view of neutrality towards one’s own life and often times in religion, there is a narrative of a higher power, life after death, and cause and effect. This contradicts the argument Lucretius makes in On the Nature of the Universe. The idea of a higher power contradicts the idea of viewing yourself as insignificantly as a clump of atoms, as it provides the narrative of some force intentionally creating you and watching out for you, when Lucretius argues that everyone and everything is made up of atoms that are part of an endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Lucretius’s universal cycle narrative means that we are all a randomly created creature that makes up an unimaginably small part of a infinite system. Religion’s higher power narrative means that we are created with purpose and serve some purpose in the universe. One suggests that a person’s life is insignificant while the other suggests the opposite. As the reason why assigning too much importance to one’s life can be burdensome, it makes sense that Lucretius would be against this aspect of religion. Another aspect of religion is the idea of life after death. This again assigns significance to one’s life as it makes the concept of a person immortal. Lucretius says that once we die, our atoms become repurposed into something else, so that although the physical matter that once made us still exists, it exists in an entirely different form, thus idea of us doesn’t exist anymore. Whereas in the idea of an afterlife, it means that the idea of a person will still exist after their death. Lucretius believes that we should acknowledge that the idea of us will one day completely vanish because it again makes us realize our own insignificance as it reinforces the concept of how temporary we are and it also reinforces the concept that we don’t get a second chance and whatever we want to savor in our life, we have to do it now. Another concept of religion that is against Lucretius’s ideas is the concept that everything happens for a reason. Humans have a natural tendency towards cause and effect because we are deterministic beings who like everything to have a logical explanation behind it. For this reason, many religious beliefs enforce the idea that everything that happens was intentional, and there is a reason behind it that we may not know, as religion aims to console one about the harsh reality Lucretius argues which is that everything is pure chaos and randomness and the actions of the universe can not be explained, controlled, or understood by humans. It is a difficult reality to accept, and Lucretius acknowledges this, and that is why we come up with a narrative to console us. Lucretius himself may even fall back on this narrative for consolation, as he references the gods consistently throughout his work, because being truly objective about the condition of the universe is much easier said than done. We all have a fear of death, and Lucretius believes it is only harmful to us to fear death because it prevents us from enjoying the life we have in the moment, as he says that the human race, “believes there’s feeling after death. / He does not really accept what he professes / He does not wholly remove himself from his life…he makes something / Of himself to survive and go on living” (III.875-879). He doesn’t think coming up with a narrative to soften the blow is the best approach, despite the fact that he may or may not do the same himself. He believes that it is best for one to be objective about what truly happens to them after they die, that their body will be recycled, “That after death his body by wild beasts / And birds will be devoured…” (III.880-881). There is solace to be found in our own insignificance as the pressure is off to work tirelessly to attain something that we think will make us happy and provide us the best life possible, when often the things we think will make us happy often turn out to not have that satisfying release we hoped for. According to Lucretius, religion can satisfy one in the short term, but can lead to existential problems in the long run, whereas acknowledging the objective reality will be painful in the short term but will help them live a more meaningful life in the long run.

Our brain is primed to find meaning in everything that happens and everything we do. For this reason, we are desperate to live a meaningful life, because deep down we know that one day the entire human race will go extinct and nothing that any human has ever done will ever truly matter. Although in the grand scheme of things, the human life has practically no significance, and there are so many unknowns in the nature of the universe, we can still find meaning in our life ironically by not trying too hard to find meaning. A certain detachment must be built, in that it’s less about what you will do in your life and more about what you are doing. When someone is desperate to life a meaningful life, they choose things that they think are meaningful to them and spend their whole life working towards that, when in reality, we don’t always know what will make us happy. Often the best moments in our lives are the most spontaneous ones and the ones that are spent with people we love. The way to find meaning in life is not working towards an end goal but to find meaning and have appreciation for every moment.