Never Mind

It's that time of the week to catch my breath again. A week goes by in a hectic rush of tasks and commitments.  Life is simply maintenance--of the body, mind and every material and immaterial possession of ours.

Things break down, inevitably. They only persist only through maintenance. Not only things but relationships between husbands and wives, friends and colleagues, require regular maintenance. I sent my car to the carwash just now; I exercise daily, I recharge all my headphones, smartphones and laptops, I carry out the garbage, I showered and slept; in other words I maintained the life that I live, which is largely made up of life-maintenance activities.

If I put it that way, doesn't life sounds rather hopelessly empty? What is the meaning of all these? Everyone in one of their quiet moments of reflection would inevitably ponder about this cliche of a question: what is the meaning of life?

Most are placated by the answers given by their adopted religion. Sometimes, the minute realisation of some spiritual insight would completely transform a person and turn him into a fanatical zealot. And who can blame him? It is like a blind man suddenly given the gift of sight, not realising that he is also deaf.  If he is told that there is still an equally beguiling world of sounds, would he be interesting in seeking access to?

We are ignorant of the things that we are ignorant of. Shouldn't we then, put all our effort into overcoming ignorance, as our main preoccupation in life? Shouldn't we question everything that we could question, including why we seek meaning at all in life? And if we find some so-called answers, why do they seem to satisfy us at all?

Shouldn't we also ask, what do we mean by 'meaning'? What makes something meaningful? And why should life be something meaningful? What's wrong with a life that's simply an endless series of maintenance chores? 

We are all independent minds minding our own business, in the way we think is meaningful. For some, it is the relentless pursuit of material success; to others, it is to 'do good' in the eyes of God; for many it is the combination of both. We make it our business to mind what we think is our business. 

Do you think there's something like an E equals mc-squared type of equation that would satisfy everyone as the meaning of our existence? Probably not, and that's all well and good. You define what your business is and go mind it. What's the meaning of... well, never mind!