What is the meaning of life?

Reflections by our volunteer, Zhewei.

“What is the meaning of life?”

“What is the purpose of all this?”

“What is success and happiness?”

I am sure most of us have asked or been asked these questions.

And we probably received dozens of answers that left us even more confused and uncertain.

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I am not sure about you but what I'm sure of is that the purpose and meaning of life has taken on so many different forms during my growing years.

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When I was a kid, my sole purpose was to get my homework done on time so I can get to kick a ball at the void deck, with slippers as the goalpost or even play my favourite Maplestory with a lagging internet connection, together with friends that I do not even know in real life.

Good times.

During my teens, as much as the school curriculum was crushing, I really enjoyed school. Not entirely because of the school, but rather, the many friends that adopted me into their social circle and wholly accepted me for who I was.

Being accepted felt really great.

And now that I am older, being a few years into adulthood, I was first slapped with retrenchment back in 2020 due to COVID. I guess that was my initiation into this whole corporate system. It felt terrible but was also a great wake up call.

A good reminder for me to rethink about what I want, considering how the societal norms of success and happiness were progressively ingrained into me by the very system that was supposed to gift me the answers of what life truly means.

I can go on and on about how I feel about success and happiness but that’s not the main point of this sharing.

Because like I said earlier, the definition is fleeting and nothing is ever built to last.

You see, seasons in life come and go. And in my late twenties, one of my biggest takeaway is that life is one big irony itself.

And there is beauty in it.

Life is an every changing landscape, from discovery of new lands, cultural revolutions to technological advancements.

But yet, there is one thing that had stayed consistent over the years.

The sun will set and will always rise again, one of the biggest gifts to mankind.

It may come free to us but yet feels expensive, to the point that it cost us the luxury of time to be able to just witness it.

Some will simply fight for their life just to watch it again.

It feels like a pause in the rhythm of life but yet most of us seems to be just rushing through time, as if we know that tomorrow is a certainty.

The uncertainty and flickering of twilight has always been so fascinating and at times it feels vulnerable and yet empowering.

I think it’s safe to say that most of us enjoy and crave for certainties in life.

“When is the next meal?”

“Where should I go next?”

"What time should I wake up tomorrow?”

And as we trudge through the expeditions of life, we often we view 'progress' as 'advancement', as KPIs, modern day skyscrapers, advance technology but in fact, these might also be the very things that ‘sets us back’.

As we hustle and bustle along, sometimes it’s always good to take a pause and ask yourself why and what you are actually fighting for?

Are you pursuing things you may not need?

But then again, when the time comes we scramble for things that are truly necessary?

So if that's you and you're having a bad day, remember that the sun will set and will always rise again.

And tomorrow will be a better day.

Your friend,

Zhewei.