Iambravy <vyquach1402@gmail.com>
2022_AP_HUMA_SU_1165__9_A_EN_A_ONLN_01: Re: Searching for Meaning
Rachel Le (via eClass) <myforum@yorku.ca> Sat, May 13, 2023 at 5:29AM Reply-To: myforum+AAAAAAAAAAIAAAAAAAFAMAAAAAAAL6HcSOZFk5RahytNLl32@yorku.ca To: Rachel Le <vyquach1402@gmail.com>
2022_AP_HUMA_SU_1165__9_A_EN_A_ONLN_01 » Forums » Searching for Meaning
RL Re: Searching for Meaning by Rachel Le - Saturday, 13 May 2023, 5:15AM
In the journey of healing and self-improvement, I have also had times of crisis, even extreme suffering, when faced with countless questions, questioning myself every day, whether I am following the right path, who I am going to be after I graduate from college, or I am delighted with what I'm pursuing or is it just my family's expectations for me.The "existential shocks” concept opened a window of sympathy for my doubts about life. I know I am too young to taste all of life's sweet, bitter, and spicy flavours. In the poem "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" by Walt Whitman, I see myself in existence as the author simulates attending a lecture by a professional astronomer.This experience for the author is a dry and uninteresting one. Instead, he finds joy as simple as looking at the stars in the vast sky, imagining himself shining like the stars, and living a free life.
To be honest, sometimes, when I attend lectures in large lecture halls, I feel so confused and lost. I really don't like the feeling of cramming with dry theoretical knowledge.At that moment, I was really skeptical because the meaning of acquiring knowledge would make my life better. Compared to studying for hours in a lecture hall, I feel my soul is at ease, especially when I just sit in a certain corner of a park, watching people pass by, talking and laughing together. It can be said that human-watching is the most effective healing activity for my soul after long and tiring days. When I catch a blissful moment with someone on the road, my heart at that time feels recovered and heart-warming. Life is fascinating.
I see myself in every line of the poem. Each of us will have a period of struggling to find the answer to the meaning of existence. Probably, I think that's the only purpose that keeps our lives going. I realize that young people like me have always longed for freedom and wish to have some outstanding achievements in life, such as getting a good job, owning a house for themselves or earning a stable source of income that can serve all their personal needs. Meanwhile, when I talk to older people, such as my grandparents or my parents, the meaning of life for them is just living a simple life, having good health, and being able to live with their loved ones as long as possible. I think they have simply gone through almost 2/3 stage of a person's life, everything they have experienced is now nothing but nothing, and to me, everything seems to have just begun.
In the article "Existential Shock and Senseless Suffering," O'Connor( 2013) argued that “everyone's life has suffered, but not everyone experiences an existential shock.” We all admit that life is not always rosy. Suffering and loss are inevitable. It is a kind of taste of life. The difference here is that each person will have a different way of coping with difficulties. Some people are vigorous that they are "immune" to suffering and loss.They see it as a motivation or a life lesson for them to get up and live a better life. However, many people become so negative after a crisis that they cannot accept themselves. They find themselves caught in the midst of the suffering that life constantly presses upon them. It is a meaningless life with no way out.
I don't know how far my efforts will lead me. I don't know the true meaning of the sufferings or difficulties that life gives me. What I do now is just face it and try and keep my journey on. In my journey to find the meaning of life, I think what I can do to combat the negative connotations of ''existentialism'' is to live in a very kind way, accepting my flaws. My mother used to encourage me, "You just keep trying, and life will treat you the way you live and try." I believe in things that the universe or the spirit has always existed, such as the law of karma "You reap what you sow in this life."
Citations:
O’Connor, P. (2013, November 24). Existential concussions and meaningless suffering. PsychologyToday https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/philosophy-stirred-not-shaken/201311/existential-concussions-andmeaningless-suffering
Whitman, W. (n.d.). When I heard the learn’d astronomer by Walt... Poetry Foundation. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45479/when-i-heard-the-learnd-astronomer Show parent | Reply See this post in context
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