What Is Life Really About?

The question was asked here a few days ago about what makes life worth living, and I gave a fairly brief and incomplete answer.

Ever since then, I’ve been running the question through my mind, and considering what the answer entails, because it’s quite a loaded question, and the answer encompasses so many things. For every person on this earth, the answer will be different, because that’s how humans are built, and is a great deal of the human condition.

There are a lot of things that encompass my life, and make my life worth living. Certainly, some of them have much more of an impact than others, but they all have an impact.

One is my daughter, 10 months and two days old today, and nothing has more of an impact on my life than her. She’s so precious that I’d do anything for her, anything to protect her, and anything to make her happy. I know that any sacrifice I make is worth it, and I know that I’ll be proud of her for every day of her life. Every little giggle, every little smile, every breath, every toxic odour, it all makes life worth living. There is not a soul on this earth that makes me feel more inspired, that makes me feel so invigorated that I can work long hours and not feel tired, or that can wake me at 3 am without incurring my wrath.

Love is also incredibly important. There is nothing on earth like being loved. It gives inspiration, joy, happiness, desire, and can certainly be a mood-booster. If you’re loved, life seems so much better. All the inspiration, joy, happiness, desire and all the other feelings are enhanced. Love is hard to get, and hard to lose. The love of a good mate or an animal can be wonderful. In fact, it’s been found in studies that having a life partner or a pet can extend life expectancy… except for anyone who is owned by the animal I was, the cleverly named “Kitty”, who was clearly a cat and used to shit all over my carpet. That shortened my life expectancy, because cat crap stinks and raises my blood pressure.

Friends. Friends tie into love, because if they’re a true friend, they love me in some way, even if it’s small. My friends will support me through anything, and they do. My friends are there, no matter what I need and when I need it. There’s been more than one occassion when I’ve called a friend in the middle of the night, and they’ve spoken to me even though they don’t have to, need to, or should do. It’s a very powerful thing. There is very little that is more precious to me than a really great friendship.

Another is my job. I’ve worked for the same man, same company, and in the same position for years. I love my job. My boss is awesome, and he and his wife are close friends of mine. I was close friends with his daughter, until Steff died in a car accident. My job is varied, and has lots of different responsibilities. Although it brings a lot of responsibilities after business hours and during the night, I get a tremendous amount of self-satisfaction out of it. There is nothing like being able to solve a problem that will cost a business hundreds of thousands of dollars with one phone call, simply because you know who to call and what to ask. There is nothing like having the boss rely on you 24/7. There is nothing like feeling the true value of what you’re worth to an organisation.

Freedom is also right up there as one of the most important things in life. It’s what lets me wear what I want, watch whatever I want, read whatever I want, and write whatever I want, as well as many other things. It means I can make my choices for myself, and forces me to live with the consequences of my own decisions. It teaches me to think for myself, to question what I’m told, and to enhance my abilities. That’s fucking powerful.

They’re all fucking powerful.