Life, that distance from the cradle to the grave; measurable for one, unfathomable to another. Life is the act of living, a process that ends with a permanent termination: death. Varying beliefs declare the concept of afterlife, reincarnation, or resurrection.
Earth is the only planet in the universe known to entertain & nourish life. Evidence implies that life on Earth has existed for about 3.7 billion years. There is, however, no conclusive scientific illustration explaining how life originated. The question then shifts from ‘why?’ to ‘how?’ Contemporary scientific models, although vastly abstract, are based on the theory of co-evolution between organisms and their environment as an inherent feature of living systems. In finding the answer to these basic questions, they soon found themselves with so many classifications that it became a strenuous task to formulate the scientific name of every species.
Now it’s shallow to think it’s just us humans to be talked about. Life is to us as it is to marine animals, plants, non-cellular organisms & extraterrestrial beings (if any). Comprehension of the reaction and flexibility of life on Earth, as well as of the molecular systems that some organisms put to use to survive such extremes, will provide a critical constitution for the examination of life beyond Earth.
Zeroing-in back on Earth, where is it that we stand? What is the meaning of life? The meaning of life comprises a philosophical question relating the reason and importance of life or existence in general. The notion can be verbalized through a variety of questions, what have we done for our life? Does my life have an aim? A purpose to strive for? One day pass another, we do find ourselves questioning our intent because we opt not to take the back door as an easy way out of matters anymore. Like every child of the ordinary circumstance, we go through the motions where one nestles the young dream of a raving name, a helpful profession, a loaded pocket. Time defines which dreams deserve the chase. We begin to fish through our past frivolities and try to make the best of something or nothing to project the enhanced attribute in the future. Presently we are set to use careers as an instrument to change our lifestyles. To many, the meaning of life is deeply fused with the religious conceptions of existence, consciousness, happiness, and love.
Democritus (460 BC) was of thought that the core characteristic of life is having a soul. He also suggested that humans originally lived like animals, developing communities with time to help one another, procreating language, and evolving crafts and agriculture.
Lost in the mammoth search of what life is & how it came to being, one may miss out on how life came to its final terms. It’s okay not to make a mark as long as you can smile at how it all went by. If your epitaph doesn’t read ‘what a waste’, you know it was all worth it.
