What the dying have to say about life’s meaning

What message about life meaning our overthinking steers us away from.

In reading When Breath Becomes Air when Paul started talking about his search for what it means to live a meaningful life, I thought, this is it. Here is this intelligent man who studied literature and philosophy, who is passionate about reading great books like Robinsons Crusoe, Ivanhoe, and one of my favourites, The Count of Monte Cristo, and also appreciates poetry. If he has also gone through these areas of study in his search, furthered it into biology, science and examination of the brain in neurological surgery, as well as had the practical experience of spending time with dying patients, who goes on to be diagnosed with cancer, surely, he has found something if there is something to be found.

Paul wondered about a meaningful life along his entire life path through all these mentioned quests he traversed. In his book, his surviving wife Lucy says it is, in a sense, unfinished, derailed by his rapid decline, also noting that is an essential component of its truth. Only I believe if Paul had some great answer or wisdom about the meaning of life or living a meaningful life, he would have included it. He would have spoken to have had it included if he couldn’t write it himself. In reading the book, you can sense that he is wondering and wanting to share that wonder in that all great literature shares a great truth. I don’t doubt Paul’s book is any different. It is a capture of this wonder about our life that leads us to search for meaning, and it is in our search we live as we are meant to. I believe the book is complete as Paul finishes it with the most important paragraph, the one intended for his daughter that includes all the wisdom any human of any great quest arrives at, that every movie aims to move you with, and every book that hopes to touch you concludes with because it is what matters; the importance of the moments we share and the importance that you matter simply in being you.

Nothing is more significant, more valuable, more fleeting, more life-affirming, and meaningful than the message that you matter and time spent with you is a treasure. You matter simply for being you, for in being you, you have brought joy whether you know or remember it. Paul’s daughter won’t remember how much joy she brought him in their fleeting time, and that is the most important thing he has to say, that she matters, she mattered to him, and that is enough.

The meaning of life and living a meaningful life is something we make something out of more than is intended to be made. We won’t find any explanation more complex than this I touch on because they don’t exist. All the lifetimes that have come before us show us this. Consider the last cake a grandmother made before she died. We could dissect why it was made and what meaning they sought to convey in choosing this flavour or the icing. We could debate if it is to be eaten or saved. Maybe the cake should be frozen until a particular date, like the anniversary? That is overthinking at its best. If someone baked a cake, we could wisely see that it is for eating. That eating it is enough. It brings people together, and it brings an individual a simple pleasure, a moment of delight, and what more could you hope to leave than another moment of delight you cultivated?

Life is answered in our birth. We are here to live it. It will come with so many struggles, heartaches and more. That is not something that should derail our thought. It simply is how it is. Nothing more. We have this wonderful feeling of desire we get to pursue on earth. We get to enjoy walks in nature and take up hobbies of our liking, from gardening to cooking, to writing, to video gaming. Each as we enjoy, let us enjoy them. Meet your responsibilities, so you may get to enjoy a few joys. Nothing more, that is enough.

Please support this artist by simply sharing this article:

If you have yet, please subscribe to receive each new article.