Inspiration: What Are Life’s Big Questions?
“The most important questions in life can never be answered by anyone except oneself.” John Fowles
Inspiration: What Are Life's Big Questions?... Who Am I?
Paul Gauguin’s ‘Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?,
SoulPancake: The Conversation Couch – Life’s Big Questions (Super Soul Sunday – Oprah Winfrey Network)
We all have questions about our lives; big and small questions… Who Am I? Why Am I Here? We want to know the meaning of life: Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? For each person, a specific question or more might resonate more deeply and frequently. Then, there are those who have no questions. They are at peace with life as it is or they are not interested in asking questions that might not have clear answers. When I watched the SoulPancake video above, it got me thinking about life’s big questions and I became curious about the questions others have… John Fowles’ quote above is excellent because it reiterates the importance of self-reflection. I might have a point of view about your life question but it might not necessarily be the answer you truly need. For that, we must go inside and reflect; some call it prayer, others meditation… but this contemplative work is imperative for those big questions we grapple with daily or periodically.
“You just have to do your own thing, no matter what anyone says. It’s your life.” Ethan Embry
Inspiration: What Are Life's Big Questions? Who? What? Why? When? Where? How? ....endlessly
We have so many questions about life that sometimes it makes us want to scream… We have questions about; Love, Life, Career, God, Our Purpose, Death, The Soul, Doubts, The Ego, Our Mistakes, Truth, Religion, Prayer, Emotions, Hate, Sacrifice, and a slew of other subjects that impact our lives. On any given day, a question might arise; they seem to come more frequently when we are anxious or struggling with important decisions… The Sages of old have always said we must go inside to find the answers… True. The prayer/blessing below might be a great way to start.
“This is my wish for you: Comfort on difficult days, smiles when sadness intrudes, rainbows to follow the clouds, laughter to kiss your lips, sunsets to warm your heart, hugs when spirits sag, beauty for your eyes to see, friendships to brighten your being, faith so that you can believe, confidence for when you doubt, courage to know yourself, patience to accept the truth, Love to complete your life.” Anon, What are your big questions? More below 😉
“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” George Bernard Shaw
Inspiration: What Are Life's Big Questions?: What is the 'Experiencing Self' vs the 'Remembering Self'?
“There are these four ways of answering questions. Which four? There are questions that should be answered categorically [straightforwardly yes, no, this, that]. There are questions that should be answered with an analytical (qualified) answer [defining or redefining the terms]. There are questions that should be answered with a counter-question. There are questions that should be put aside. These are the four ways of answering questions.” Buddha
If life is about creating ourselves, then our questions don’t have to come with rigid expectations of what the answers will be. Think about it: if we are creating, inventing, re-inventing ourselves, then, there is freedom and flexibility to explore beyond our given boundaries. We are free to become anything we wish to be rather than that prescribed by our family, our society, or our lineage. Our questions might become a tad more fluid if we took Shaw’s quote to heart. Who Am I? I am who I wish to be… I can co-create a new me… Why Are You Here? … Your turn.
“An answer is always a form of death.” John Fowles
Inspiration: What Are Life's Big Questions? When Will the World End?...
I believe the quote above is perfect for our last segment on a post about life’s big questions. Perhaps the key is not to have all our questions answered but to have enough mystery, uncertainty, fluidity, wonder, and angst to keep us curious about our lives and the world we inhabit. Imagine if all your life questions and blueprint were already conveyed to you … where would the incentive to stay active and involved in making life better come from? Sometimes, knowing the answer to our effort, ahead of time, is a form of death… What are your thoughts? What are your big questions? How do you view your life? Do you feel all your questions have been answered? Would it make a difference? Do share! Thank you. 😉
This post was inspired by a prompt from SoulPancake: The Conversation Couch -Life’s Big Questions
Positive Motivation Tip: We all have questions about our lives; big and small… contemplate yours.
Related articles
- What I’m Diggin’ (soulpancake.com) (creativeaddictionblog.com)
- WATCH: Don’t Walk, Dance! (huffingtonpost.com)
- The Tree – John Fowles (booklolly.wordpress.com)
- Musings: Is Your Sense Of Wonder Drying Up? (eof737.wordpress.com)
- Reflections: Is Reality Half-Full Or Half-Empty? (eof737.wordpress.com)
- Musings: Do you feel connected to your body? (eof737.wordpress.com)
- Inspiration: Seeking A Better Life… (eof737.wordpress.com)
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos Paul Gauguin’s ‘Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?,’ Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream,’ John Martin’s ‘The Great Day of His Wrath,’and John Singleton Copley’s Mrs. Humphrey Devereux via Wikipedia. Or via Flickr
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
Life and art is an ongoing process. There is beauty in the work of recreating oneself and by investing in this process, we eliminate the feeling of the need to be complete. In the process we discover more and that there is great beauty in the mystery of life.
I like the quote
“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
We continually evolve
Great Entry my Friend 🙂
As you might imagine, I am drawn to the above questions. At the level of biological life, consciousness/freedom becomes free to evolve an even more free and conscious life form—a life form that builds civilizations and asks questions like how, why, when, and where did consciousness/freedom come from, questions like Who Am I? Great post.
“Life isn’t about finding yourself.
Life is about creating yourself.”
George Bernard Shaw
+
I like G.B. Shaw,
his aphorisms still are cool
after all these years!
I’m still creating myself, but many days I forget the recipe and hve to wing it:)
On another one of your posts you talk about “wonder”–I was thinking that it is this wonder that helps us view life in a positive way, even when faced with challenging questions….thanks so much for the “like” and visit!
The biggest question is “What is the purpose of life?” I’m thinking it.
like you I also have many questions but as days goes by I tend to find the answers subsequently.God has put these questions so we would have the efforts to look for the answers just like the efforts of finding his mysteries here on earth..
nice one Eliz…
Incredible post, Elizabeth!
“Sometimes, knowing the answer to our effort, ahead of time, is a form of death… ” Deeply profound and so true – but what if we knew what was in store for us if we did not change our ways – like Scrooge in A Christmas Carol? He had the chance to change his ways and his destiny for the better. I can think of so many people who could have changed their ways.
For me the big question is “Why am I here?” It haunted me since I was a small child. Now, I have simply given in to the fact that I don’t know, but I will do my best to make a difference while I am.
Beautiful post Elizabeth. Love the prayer and thank you for sharing. My big question right now is, why haven’t we found a cure for the common cold? ;-/
I have to share this.
b
Beautiful post and has much meaning in my life today…as I have been pondering this question?…The most important question about my life,,, is to always be myself…and to create a life around me that shares to the world…feelings of life…love…and happiness…!! 🙂
Wonderful post–so enjoyed the Soul Pancake video. Honestly, I don’t have any BIG questions. I know who I am–and how I can become better through life experiences. Would be a very meaningful activity for a get-together with friends. Thank you for this post, dear.
If we really think about the fact that whatever the nature of our contribution to life it is – literally – unique and can only be made by us – in the immortal words of Dr. Seuss –
‘Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.’
It is so rich to live inside the questions! May we all be abundantly richly blessed and unfold deeper and deeper questions!
Great post with great quotes. Every thing is so correct and true in this post. Great job.
Funny you should ask: I’ve been doing some soul searching these past few weeks. Mentioned to a friend and she almost laughed in my face, then promised to send me an email with a list of my accomplishments. Am still waiting, hahahaha!!!
The soul pancake video…excellent, the anon prayer/blessings…much needed and life should always be filled with questions we reflect and then act upon~ 🙂