What is the meaning of life?

[gardeningangel]

Hey Mike opened this post again after I asked him to. In the Home Building section I asked about propane prices and CJDave gave the nicest answer to the meaning to his life. I hope you don't mind Dave if I paste it in this stream. It was awsome.
I am hoping others can get a bit of positive thoughts from him too. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] Ruth

[gardeningangel]

I just saw your post on the meaning of life. Don't be unnerved if you ask someone for the time and they proceed to tell you how to build a clock; that's just the way some of us respond. We are trained to do things that way. I didn't ask myself the question about life much while I was clutching and clawing my way through a business day; I figured at the time that THIS was normal and THIS is what I should be doing. Since I retired, I can look back and see that I didn't have much fun, I didn't build long term relationships, and I didn't even really prosper to the extent that I should have. I had to give myself PERMISSION to not work, and by work I mean hit that ball day after day. Oh, I still work; I plant and harvest corn and soybeans with my neighbor, I write articles for magazines, and I substitute teach at local schools now and then, but I'm not on a 40-hour grind anymore. I have time to sit on the board at my church now, and do volunteer stuff that "they" used to do while I was too busy chasing success. I have begun to pay a lot more attention to the obituaries as a way of not only finding a good template for writing my own, but also as a way of measuring (if you can DO that) a person's life as printed below their picture in the newspaper. Who WERE they? What did they do for 85 years? I think more than anything, the real meaning of life is found in the trifecta: "Who did you love? Who Loved you? And what did you do with your gifts and talents?". I try not to spend time in the pursuit of dumb stuff and I won't let myself get sidetracked by some whacky affinity for Jim Beam bottles or anique fishing reels, or what have you. When my wife and I go to estate auctions, you can see all the "STUFF" and in the middle of all the STUFF is a vacant spot where the owner of all the STUFF used to be. I don't want to be just a vacant spot in the middle of stuff. I want my stuff to be relationships; people that I have known and encouraged, and helped in some way, and who have helped me in some way. It's all about the relationships; it always has been.

CJDave

[gardeningangel]

Dave you know that is the answers I was expecting, I don't know how to word it so work with me here. I just wanted others secrets , I mean through life you learn so much and dont learn them till its too late, why not share the good stuff that can help others lives.

No it was not a religious question just a living day to day and being happy at the end of the day question. And put on here so a bunch of people can be helped not just me.

Thank you for the awsome answer and kindness.

[gardeningangel]

Actually, the signature line in each of your posts says it better than anything. I have also learned that if I don't "keep track", life is SO much easier and SO much more relaxed. You know what I mean? You give your spare alternator to somone so he can get his Jeep home from the big Jeep Camp, and down the road a ways a guy gives you his trailer spare because yours is blamo. I've learned that it's OK to deposit in Bank A and withdraw from Bank B. If you don't want to use your good drill on a volunteer project because it might get drywall dust in the windings, then that's OK, but chances are you aren't going to ever be in the right place at the right time to buy a nice Milkwaukee drill at auction for twenty bucks. That's kind of how things often work. I've learned not to focus too much on money or hard goods since they can both be replaced over time. Relationships are a different story. As my dad once said: "It's better to have a bad year than a bad neighbor". I think Pat can attest to that one.

CJDave

[gardeningangel]

Then there is the story of the guy who had his seven kids all gathered for Thanksgiving dinner. There was a star athlete, a beauty queen, a movie star, a business tycoon, a Phd in research, a investor, and a polititcian. As he looked at the faces of his adult children, the man was filled with sorrow, because the qualities that defined the persons at his table were so temporary. Physical prowess goes away with age and injuries; beauty fades; film stars can become typecast or too old for good roles; business reverses can bankrupt someone overnight; knowledge can be usurped by new technology; investments can be wiped out by unsettled markets; and political winds can easily blow a different way. The father was filled with grief because his children weren't building the kind of future that was based on something more permanent......service, long term relationships, and sacrifice.

CJDave

Dave that was the nicest well meaning story I ever heard. Ruth

[lacal]

Life is what happens while you are making plans.
Seriously life is appreciating the good things we are given, mourning the sad times, accepting the bad and coming out the other side having slid into death totally exhausted and knowing you had a great ride.