The Meaning of Life
The question “what is the meaning of life?” has been asked for millennia. It’s something we’ve all contemplated during our existence. For me, it’s a perennial internal debate with the answer usually reflecting what I’m going through at that time.
The desire for an answer stems from the hope there is more to life than the mere passage of time, before we are all united in death. As nihilistic as this sounds, meditating on the issue isn’t remotely so.
It’s intrinsic.
Listening to Naval Ravikant talk once, I heard him declare that it is the search for the answer to this question, rather than the answer itself, which is important. I would agree with this position. None of us can be narcissistic enough to believe we know the answer even for ourselves – let alone for the entire population of Earth. But by ruminating on the topic, we can facilitate personal growth.
Why do I say this? Well, a question that cannot be answered teaches us to think – and in learning to think we uncover who we are.
Creation
Several weeks ago I had a conversation with Bill Masur (@futureinmindd) on his podcast about faith (listen here – plus give him a follow. He’s an insightful and honourable man). One of the issues we, briefly, touched upon was the necessity of creation. I have long ruminated on this thought in my life, and have come to the conclusion it is the intrinsic driver.
As I’ve already mentioned, this doesn’t mean I’m correct. I don’t want to tell everyone what they should, or shouldn’t do – however, by illuminating my own beliefs perhaps others can relate and use them to inform their own. And for me, creation appears to be universally important.
There are several ways this plays out.
For one, people that create something always have a purpose which informs that process. Purpose is integral as it provides a common thread throughout our lives and what we create is a manifestation of this.
When someone only consumes, it usually means they lack purpose. It is these people who descend into a slobbish, unhappy and demotivated state as their lack of direction opens a void in their life.
Definition
Now before we go any further, I want to give a brief outline of what I perceive as creative pursuits. I see three main forms of creation in life. There are more, but these are three I wish to talk about.
The first is artistic or productive creation. This is what most people associate with creative acts: writing, painting, making music, building architecture, producing goods etc. This manner of creation can take the form of leisurely pursuits, but also paid work.
This is when we spawn something new from the depths of our imagination. An alchemical procedure, it is a beautiful and fulfilling act. I would recommend everyone to pursue this for their recreation. It is far more satisfying than mindlessly watching Netflix or surfing the Internet (although there is a time and a place for both).
The second form of creation I see is self-improvement. Bettering ourselves is a creative act as we shape what we once were, into what we want to be. This is the most obtuse form of creativity. But when we see who we are now, and mould this essence into something new – a vision of our selves wrought from the internal – I can’t help but be struck by the creativity of this act.
Finally, I see procreation as the ultimate creative endeavour. By birthing a life, we reach the pinnacle of creation as a living being arises from our actions. We can extrapolate this and see sex as a creative pursuit – something pick up artists will be happy to read.
However, I’m not an advocate for the long-term pursuit of casual sex, although I do believe – for men – it’s an essential developmental stage.
Making love in true intimacy is far more of a creative pursuit than a mindless romp with a stranger. When you have had time to get to know another’s body, how best to stimulate and engage whilst keeping each act a novel experience – that isn’t mindless. It’s a pursuit of creative endeavour.
Moving on from the sexual side of procreation, it’s my experience that parents who are deeply invested in moulding their children are some of the most balanced individuals there are – they understand their role, can express their purpose and take joy in the long-term project of raising children. This leads to internal peace and satisfaction.
Such is the result of our supreme act of creation.
So I’ve outlined three different forms of creation: we have the creation of art/goods, self-creation and procreation.
Despite the importance of each, for this essay I will primarily focus on the first of these three.
Experience
All creative successes are spawned by experience; a well-lived life is the ultimate inspiration.
We use our experiences to shape artistic creation; we use them to change who we are; and we use them to raise our children in accordance with the values we hold.
Take the example of this blog; you may have noticed I often use my own personal experiences to inform my writing. I used my religious development as the basis for ‘Faith’s Demise’, I used my own personal transformation for ‘Rebirth’ and the experience I’ve had living in Asia suffering through problems of pollution and plastic waste for ‘The End of the World’.
Part of this is the impossibility of separating ourselves, from ourselves. We can limit our biases, but we can never truly be objective. As long as there is an awareness, acceptance and attempts to mitigate this fact, it shouldn’t be viewed as problematic.
It is also my nature to only talk about experiences I feel I can provide first-hand insight on, whether it be anecdotal or intellectual. As such, I try to only give perspectives on things that I personally have knowledge of. The reason for this is the proliferation of marketers and ‘fake news’ online. With this explosion of information, we are under a constant state of manipulation. So, if I haven’t actively witnessed or lived through something – or at the very least thought deeply about – I try not to comment on it.
I regularly fail in this, but hey – nobody’s perfect.
This may seem somewhat ego driven, but in reality the ego must be embraced, whilst being balanced with humility. This is an area in which we are all unsuccessful from time to time. It’s to be expected. When we are, we must reflect and reassess.
Back on topic – by living our own life, we develop a spirit which informs our creativity. Having found this, our experience of life improves, birthing further creativity. In much the same way that self-improvement sets into motion a snowball effect which develops all aspects of your life, so does creation.
It interests me that there is overlap between areas of the human experience. One of these seems to be the idea of momentum.
In the talk with Bill Masur I referenced earlier, we discussed that as we’ve both developed into more successful, better people, we’ve become more religious. It appears as if our momentum bulldozed the negative parts of our life, opening up the space for improvement in other areas – one of which was a religious awakening.
This is due to the inability to compartmentalise ourselves; everything within us is connected and must be viewed holistically. As a result, it’s unsurprising that these things all seem linked. Once we set into motion one improvement, others soon crash along.
Despite this being unsurprising, it still fascinates and intrigues me. I never fail to be left astounded at the depth of the human psyche.
Health
On the topic of viewing ourselves holistically, this is why health is so important, and why so many dramatic changes occur in people once they get their health in check. By improving the basic feelings by which we experience life, it opens the door to changing all others.
Once our body becomes properly healthy a cloud is lifted from our mind which allows us to think more clearly, opening connective pathways and improving our mood. With a better mood, the possibility for creativity flourishes.
Health really is the basis of our life. It’s the skeleton upon which everything else hangs. We should structure our lives around it – sleeping enough, preparing meals, exercising – which allows us to hit our potential in our free time. Letting these routines slip in a chase for productivity is about the most unproductive thing you could do.
Consumption Vs Creation
Health aside, when we discuss creation we can never ignore consumption. The debate between the two is often fraught, but I’ll give my take on it. In essence, I believe we should do neither exclusively. When we consume, it informs our creation and when we create, it informs our consumption.
However, if we exclusively consume we are not living for ourselves, but for others. They are influencing and driving us through their will and purpose. If we do not create we are unable to redress this balance.
Likewise, if we exclusively produce we don’t ever get out of our own head, and are never influenced by others – which is equally dangerous. This develops a thought echo-chamber, skewing perspectives and warping views. It’s not a positive thing.
Balance is often talked of as a dirty word in the self-improvement sphere, but in reality it is essential; we must both consume, and create.
Evolutionary Roots?
I want to delve into why creation may be so important to humans.
I think it comes down to our brain and physiology. I’d posit humans are the apex predator of the animal kingdom – despite our lack of physical weapons; we do not have talons, teeth or claws. Because of this natural disadvantage it became evolutionarily essential we created our own weapons to hunt. Tools such as spears, bows and boomerangs are primitive examples of this.
We also creatively improvised traps which could ensnare fish and game with little risk to ourselves. Useful, when you don’t have any hide to protect you from the talons of others.
So, it’s possible that our creative impulses stem from our physiological need to hunt.
This I think is the crux of why much of humanity’s innovation also derives from militaristic developments. We evolved to be killing machines for our own protection, and because of this, there is a part of us which is inherently violent. Real talk, we don’t have to look much further than a school history textbook to learn that.
As (another) quick aside, one of the issues I have with how most people talk of human nature is that it is often seen as zero-sum. We have a part of us which is violent, ergo we are destructive predators. I think this is an oversimplified way of viewing our base desires and way of living.
Whilst humans do have a history of death and destruction, we also have a history of reconciliation and altruism. Humanity is littered with tales, fables and anecdotes telling of this kind of behaviour. As a result, co-operation, too, is part of human nature. People who deny this are every bit as deluded as those who deny our violent tendencies.
Here we can also open up another debate: the age old question of nature vs nurture. Some would argue that our nature is violent, but our society is conciliatory, hence why we have tales of both. I personally would argue that society developed from our nature and therefore the truth is we have aspects of both within us.
As always, the answer is grey.
Brain Vs Brawn
Following in this vein, I’m not a blank slater. Because of this I think it’s possible that there are different genetic compositions which lead certain people to be more prevalent to violence. In fact, I recently gained knowledge of the MAOA gene which would support this idea. It has been found that there’s an association between those who carry it being more prone to violence (I’m going to research this a bit more fully, before I talk too deeply about it).
But how does this apply to creativity?
Well, go back to my theory for our creative intelligence. In this we had two different forms of inventions: traps vs weapons. Whilst both are used for killing, the means is somewhat different. One is visceral, requiring brawn, the other crafty, requiring brain. I think it is possible that those more inclined to a violent path would have created the tools for violent killing.
As a corollary, those less inclined towards that path would creatively come up with solutions to the problem of nutritional acquisition which suited their mentality and physique. Now, I have no evidence for this – I’m just spit balling – but perhaps there’s some merit to the idea.
Both views require creativity, and both support different genetic/cultural [pre]dispositions. They both fulfil the need for humans to hunt game without becoming embroiled in a battle with animals which are physically superior to us.
As culture changed and the Agrarian revolution came along, these two predispositions stopped focusing on tools for hunting food and developed separate paths, leading to where we are now. One type create tools of destruction, the other create art, music etc. We also have the group who don’t create shit, and are miserable as a result.
Conclusion
To conclude, creation is essential to humanity. Whether or not that is because of the evolutionary reasons posited is of course debatable, but that it is necessary I think is not. There are many different forms of productive creation – as many as there are personality types. One is not superior to another, except on a personal basis. Whichever one you enjoy is superior for you, but may not be superior for another.
But if you want to find contentment, you must uncover the type of productive/artistic creativity which best suits you.
Beyond productive creation, we must all create ourselves through self-improvement along with embracing the drive to procreate – yes, I’m talking to you eco-warriors and feminazi’s.
For true contentment we must match all three over the course of our life. As we are dynamic, there will be periods where one type will be more important than the others.
So go find the creativity in your life. Know yourself, know what you want from life – and create it.
Not doing so is committing soulful suicide.
Thanks for reading.
If you feel as though you lack the purpose to inform your creative drive check out Harsh Strongman’s guide ‘Live Intentionally: Discipline, Mindset, Direction’ or read my report on it HERE
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