I Like to hear how people think. Simple question.....

[boonpop]

Give me your definition of life.

[sweetharmony]

wow, such a longwinded question. i see life as a series of challenges and lessons that we must face and conquer. and of course, birth, love, death, birht and all the lifecycles are all meaningful aspects.

[healinginnyc81]

I don't know if there's some higher power, but either way my feeling is that I should just live as if there is no higher power but by being open minded and realizing that I don't know that much, I'm trying to make the most of what I have. No matter what happens I want to believe that I can still come up with a new challenging goal for my life and work towards it. The point of life to me is to do whatever I think I'll look back on and be proud of when I'm an old man. I expect my point of view to change every few years though based on new experiences.

[chai714]

From birth, experiences which shape who you are today.

[BellaDonna]

I have always viewed "life" as a relatively short amount of time a soul is granted to exist on Earth, with the hopes that the soul will make a difference/impact before it leaves.

 

 

BellaDonna

[UT]

Give me your definition of life.

 

The definition of life is easy. It's electricity. Now, what life is to me is a completetly different question.

[Carnatic]

It's the bit in between birth and death.

[Kyoshiro Ogari]

It's the bit in between birth and death.

Get that diploma ready because this one's goin' places!

 

That's funny though. My definition of life is changing daily, with more questions than answers. About 10 years ago, my definition of life was a resume for your entry into Heaven. This can be bad because if you are doing good things just to get into the Pearly Gates, then you are a phony. And He will know! This belief depends on your religious beliefs, and I am not sure where mine is yet.

 

Right now, my definition of life is unnessesary pain. But I also agree with BellaDonna's definition. However, I doubt we live just one life on Earth. I think that our souls are recycled on this world until we get "It" right. Where you go after you get It right is beyond me. And what the hell is "It"?

[Dako]

Life is waiting, as in Waiting for Godot.

[boonpop]

i see life as a series of challenges and lessons that we must face and conquer. and of course, birth, love, death, birht and all the lifecycles are all meaningful aspects.

So what about Trees, insects, animals and amibas? They can express themselves with our vastly overcomplicated human emotions, but are they not living right along side us?

 

I notice that most people describe life from what it means to be human and that shows the hubris nature of the human mind. There has to be more to life than just our own emotions and complications right?

[ole21]

well i know that everyone's definition of life will be different because everyone views it differently and wants different things from it.

But i do think that some of the earlier definitions were somewhat stupid in my mind. some of you were talkin bout life as being something that we are kinda just passing through, or how a "soul is granted a place on earth." but really it's everything! i mean you can be living you life right now looking forward to later in life or you can choose to make the best of everything and make your life great. i know there's all this religion stuff about after one dies, but you shouldn't base your life around it. have goals, dreams, then do what you can to become the best person you can become. love and be loved. work hard and endlessly for what you desire most. enjoy as much as you can. take that hardships and turn them into greatness.

everyone has the ability for greatness, it's just a matter of who believes and who's goin to go after it.

[ole21]

also another thought that i had is that life is totally about perception and how we view the world and our lives. do you think that the way that Michael Jordan and a homeless guy viewed the world as children are different? of course they are! i mean you could compare yourself with the average and look good, or you can compare yourself to the best and figure out how you're going to get there. has anyone seen the Adidas campaign? "Imposible Is Nothing" that's how great people view their lives. that's how i live my life

 

i'm writin alot about athletes because i am one.

[BellaDonna]

another thought that i had is that life is totally about perception and how we view the world and our lives

 

I think that's exactly why the original poster asked the question- he wanted to see what different people's perceptions were about "life"

 

i do think that some of the earlier definitions were somewhat stupid in my mind

 

That's your perception...and you're entitled to it. But out of respect respect for others- you may want to think of re-wording it. There are other, more constructive ways to state that your opinion differs, without using condescending words like "stupid". Instead of ultimately calling people's beleifs anf feelings "stupid" you can instead say:

 

"I disagree with those definitions"

 

or

 

"my opinion is different"

 

 

 

i know there's all this religion stuff about after one dies, but you shouldn't base your life around it.

 

(Though I personally agree with you) To some people- that statement is highly debatable. As you stated, it's also about individual perception, so others will decide what they want to base their own lives on....and what they "should" or "shouldn't" do.

 

have goals, dreams, then do what you can to become the best person you can become. love and be loved. work hard and endlessly for what you desire most. enjoy as much as you can. take that hardships and turn them into greatness.

everyone has the ability for greatness, it's just a matter of who believes and who's goin to go after it.

 

I agree again. However, keep in mind that people can be "religious" and still do all the things you stated above. Religion and goals/reaching one's potential need not be mutually exclusive.

 

 

BellaDonna

[the yang to the worlds yin]

time to experience and learn about the people, places, behaviors, mysteries, and marvels before us. it's all one huge learning experience, be it education or life's little lessons.

[sweetharmony]

you're right boonpop. my answer is very humancentric. lest i forget all the other species on the planet. and also, very ethnocentric. what about life on other planets. we cannot even fathom the world that exists beyond our plane of existence. what is life to others may be incomprehensible to us. they may live in a six dimensional world and have thoughts unimaginable.

 

it reminds me-i recently went to the darwin exhibit at the museum of natural history in new york. new yorkers, please visit the exhibit and the museum. it's incredible. in addition, you'll want to get tickets to the documentaries in the imax "life out there" also see the butterfly exhibit and dinosaurs. (sorry, i recently went and was very excited. you really begin to wonder your place in this world. we are really just "dust in the wind....j/k" or specks in this vast earth. is there really so much meaning. if you think about how much time and energy we spend mortified over the little things in life...and then you think of the entire world. it's complex and complicated, but all relevent.

[ole21]

time to experience and learn about the people, places, behaviors, mysteries, and marvels before us. it's all one huge learning experience, be it education or life's little lessons.

i agree that there are plenty of lessons within life that one must learn from and i always try to learn from everything to make myself a better peson, but is life really one learning experience? for what then?

[Moxie100]

Maybe the word "life" doesn't exist as human beings understand it to. We all agree that if "it" has blood and a beating heart, it is alive.

 

What about plants? We all agree that plants are alive, but it doesn't have a beating heart. Well, plants start out as something miniscule, grow, change, interact with the ecosystem around them, thus they are alive.

 

A pile of dust "grows." Dirt is an important factor in an ecosystem, as are weather, rocks, fire...are these things "alive?" Why not? Why can't they be alive? Why isn't everything "alive?" Why are humans so sure that only SOME things are "alive?"

 

Glaciers move like living creatures - why can't they be "alive?"

One-celled creatures like amoebas are so simple - are we sure they're "alive?"

 

Each single cell in our body is "alive," but made up of components that by themselves are not "alive." Oxygen. Protein. Carbon Dioxide. Phospherus. Sodium. These things are not alive. So why together are they suddenly "alive?"

[Carnatic]

If we're going to get all biological about it (which wasn't the intended direction of this post I don't think) then biologists agree that the following are traits of something which is alive. (Of course this could be taken philosophically as well, so I suppose it is still relevant)

 

Movement

Reproduction

Sensitivity

Growth

Respiration

Excretion

Nutrition

 

Of course John Lennon put it best when he said

'Life is what happens to us while we're making other plans'

[ole21]

i think you should post this on some science website that's talkin about life, because no one here really is talkin at all about plants and glaciers and dust.

i want to say one thing tho...life is very mystical and everyone has all these built up barriers within their minds that set the limits. they set the limits for the possible and the possible. But the greatest people have found a way to break the barrier and show that "impossible is nothing"

Kobe Bryant scoring 81 the other night is a prime example. do you think any other player even thought about that? NO because they had a mental barrier showing them that their greatest night might be 40 or 50 points. Kobe thought like a hero, like a great, like a legend. and this is what made him have that unbelievable night. and the crazy part is that people are thinkin that he could get more.

[Kevin T]

To me, life is existence. But that's probably not what you wanted to hear and does sound a bit trite, so I'll give a better explanation.

 

In my own view, life is about happiness (or joy). If you really break it all down, we follow after what makes us happy - what makes us feel special, complete or at peace. I'd say finding happiness (what ever that may mean to you, I don't know - it's different for everyone), that is what gives life its purpose and direction. Otherwise, we're just drifting aimlessly. (And that would suck!)

[Moxie100]

i think you should post this on some science website that's talkin about life, because no one here really is talkin at all about plants and glaciers and dust.

 

I don't think that that's true. At the very least, I'm talking about plants and glaciers and dust. I think it's all related to humanity.

[boonpop]

Man, I have to say that I appreciate the fact that all of you replied to my question as passionately as you did, and with enough insight to express opinions toward other people's response. I'm not one to argue, because I know everyone has their own opinion on life and what it means to them, that's why I made the question so open ended like it was. Any way with that said, I have my own belief of what life is for anyone who is interested.

In my opinion, life is a gift of experience. Human’s, plants, ameba's and animals all share one trait in common, they have been given the gift of life to experience all that it has to offer.

I don't know much about religion, reincarnation, the after life and preparing for what's next, but what I do know is that I've been given this gift of experience and everything that I've lived through thus far has been just that....An experience.

Now if you ask me, there is a secret to getting the most out of life after you understand what it really is, but that's another post.

Thanks again people for clarifying what life meant to all of you.

[darkblue]

What is life?

Well, life is death - with choices.

 

In short, life is what you make of it.

This consciousness and reality, which can abruptly end at any given time is directly within your control.

You have power over most of it. Even things you cannot control, like the weather, you can prepare for and change your mind in order to deal with it.

 

I won't ramble on, I'm sure you get the point.

And let's stay off the religious aspects please - as it may offend.