The notion that “we (humans) are the sole meaning” on Earth was brought up by a colleague of mine and it left me speechless. For the past few years (probably since I moved out from my small town in the north of Bohemia to Prague and started university) I began to appreciate, well, life, all the little and big things, colours and shapes, flavours and smells.
The past three years I have been able to visit places in Europe, South America, and Asia. I have met beautiful people with radiant souls and inspiring stories. Sure, I can agree with that statement to some extent. It doesn’t matter, at least for me, what buildings, technologies, or clothes are around. More and more I realize that it’s always been the people, moments spent with them, and memories, both the good and bad ones, I carry on with me.
But to think that we are the centre and most important part of this world seems to be rather egocentric. Sure, in our short lives we are the centre, but only to the extent that you yourself are able to experience — that’s it. When you exhale for the last time, not much is gonna happen or change. Sure, maybe someone will shed a few tears on the occasion of your passing, but as far as the importance of and for everyone else on this planet — your fellow humans, non-human animals, and plants — life goes on. Presuming that we are special is just short-sighted.
To touch upon a few things that the last three years have shown me, I can say I became more open-minded. Not just towards other people of different creed, colours, or beliefs, but inwardly as well. Terms such as collective consciousness, extraterrestrial life, or believing in something more meaningful than just “get a degree, 9-5 workday, occasional vacation, don’t forget to consume more, it’s on sale” existence, and life with purpose, do not strike me as some hippie talk. I am not saying that I have discovered purpose in my life nor its meaning, but I am actively on the journey to. Currently, I am enjoying all the wonderful possibilities life will present you with, as long as you are open to them.
I’m doubtful that you would argue that collectively we have done some nasty things as a human race, and we keep doing them. Just look at the environment: the ancient Amazon rainforest disappearing under our watch, the Great Barrier Reef on the brink of death. Is that our meaning? Think of the 70 billion animals slaughtered annually to get our blood pressure high so we can medicate ourselves with drugs and get an occasional heart attack. Is that our importance? Consider the modern slaves in sweatshops working for a fraction of our minimum wage. What a meaning we give to this Earth.
Maybe I sound pessimistic here, but I am not. I am optimistic about this life, and if there is a doomsday of some kind approaching, I can do close to nothing to change that. But that doesn’t mean that along the way I will leave no stones unturned. We have meaning, sure, but without all that surrounds us, there is nothing to it. That meaning is interlinked to other phenomena, never to just your personal experience. It is how it has always been, and will be, in our current grasp of the human experience.
