In life, I have often felt the pressure to be successful, have a lot of fun, and be really happy all at the same time. I think secularism and individualism has put even more emphasis on the fact that we have one life, and it is completely up to ourselves to make it worthwhile. Social media and the constant (dis)approval of our life from others put on some extra pressure. But what, really, is our true task, goal or assignment in life?

The meaning of life

First of all, when it comes to the meaning of life, this is for each and everyone of us to decide for ourselves. Of course, if you are religious or an idealist, there are some collective meanings of life that we can come up with for the human race. This might be to leave the planet better than we found it, or to pursue happiness, or to obey God. But when it comes to the meaning of my life, or your life, the meaning or goal of a life might differ.

Because my values aren't your values, and what makes me happy and fulfilled - i.e. what makes my life worth living - might not do the same for you. So when you ask yourself the questions 'why am I alive?', 'what is the meaning of my life?' or 'what is the goal of my life?' it is completely up to you to find a satisfying answer. And that answer is never wrong.

The only natural assignment

But there's another way to look at what we have come to do, as a human being on this planet. Or to look at our assignment in this thing we call live. Because we can strip away all authorities. What if when we look at the individual life, we don't look towards other humans, it's place within mankind, or religious NOR spiritual authorities? What if we even don't see ourselves as an authority to decide our goal or assignment in life? Then we are left with merely the reality of life itself.

And there are still some answers there. Because when we look at nature, the only assignment we have ever gotten was just to live. Simply by the fact that we have come into this life, and at this moment are still alive. And this matches with the inherent will to live and survive, that can be observed in every living creature. 

However, nature never put any pressure on you to be successful, or to be super social, or to have a lot of fun. Nature doesn't even really care if you're happy along the way. Biologically speaking, your only assignment is simply to live. And what you want to do with that life, or if you want to have fun being alive, or how (and if!) you want to add meaning to it, is completely up to you.

The duty to live

I know what you're thinking - you never even chose to be alive, so how can the only true the assignment be to live? But this is already begging the question. By the point we ask these type of questions, we added ourselves as an authority again. And luckily, by that logic, we can also look at religious, social or spiritual arguments.

Because in my belief, you actually did some time choose to be alive and come to planet earth. But even if this is not your belief, you can argue that you have some social duties for staying alive simply because we are human beings, and therefor social creatures who depend on each other. You can imagine there are many, many religious and spiritual arguments for believing you have a duty to  (be thankful to) live, but I do not have the time nor enough blogging pages to get into that today. 

For now, meditate for a while on the fact that your only natural assignment in life is just to live. In a world where we are constantly trying to prove that our lives are beautiful, fun and successful, this can be very liberating. 

xx Coco