【First Draft】What do the people around you say about living meaningfully?

When I walked on the street and asked the people who is passing by about how meaningful are their life or what are the aspects of their life that makes it meaningful, I got varies of answers. Some of them are short and some of them are kind of interesting. The most common answers that I got from the street people are: families, friends, and happiness. Although the answers are simple and short, I think it is still meaningful to them, because these are identities of who they are. When people mentioned meaningful, it usually means something that you appreciate and it “means” something to you, such as identities, having a family or friends that really identify who you are.

When I got one-word answers from the people on the street, I usually think the answers are simple, but deep. Because I do not really know what they really mean by the one word answer, “happiness”, “friends”…etc. But I do think they are still meaningful, because they said it. Although they seems like they did not really thought about the answers, I think they do enjoy and know what they are doing since it just comes out from their mouth when you asked. Refer back to identities, by saying families and friends it gives them a sense of who they are in this planet. By saying what is meaningful in your life, people usually think of the "marks" in their life, such as marriage, jobs, and money...etc. All these aspects of people’s life that makes it meaningful because it is something that they will not forget in their life and they are appreciating what they have. Thus, in order to live a meaningful life, it relates to identities of the person.

One man that I interview on the street who is in middle class said, “My kids, because they are part of me.” Another man who is cleaning the windows that I interview the other day had said similar answers, “family and friends.” Also a few people said, “It [happiness] is the first thought that comes to me right away when I just hear the question.” I see the pattern here that most people who is in middle class, they usually answer: family, friends, and happiness. I think most of the middle class said that because they are appreciating what they have and they do not necessary have to look for something that they might not be able to reach to, such as to be richest guy in the world. Their attitudes towards the meaningful of life are pretty simple and prevalent in the worldwide population, because not everybody can reach the highest social class. In addition, most of the middle class are carrying the “burden” with them such as taking care of the kids and make them to be educated person, so theses “burdens” are preventing them to go on their own to look for the meaningful of life individually. The specific pattern that I see from the people who response, “family, friends, and happiness” is that these people are the ones who usually thinks a meaningful life is to having a contact with somebody else to be able to make their life and somebody else’s life meaningful. Not necessary they are seeking for meaningful by themselves, but they are looking for meaningful by being part of somebody else.

While 2/3 of the people I spoke to indicated family, friends and happiness, the other third had various other points of view. One old lady who is an nurse of an old women who has disabilities said "convey God" and another women that passed by me said, "What you make good and bad. What's good is good, what's bad is bad." Another lady had said, "happiness and finding your bliss." All these response to meaningful life shows that they are kind of individual. It does not seems like it has to be contact with somebody else to make their own life meaningful. They seem to be going on their own on what they really want for their "own" life, because they have a typical obligation such as "God" and "bliss". Also when the old women response to "what's good is good", it shows that everything is depending on your ownself in your life. Not necessary have to be with someone to acheive goals, but individually. In addition, one newspaper man that I interviewed said, "love, because that's what make peace." The patterns that I am seeing here is that, some people like to make their life meaningful by themselves and it has nothing to do with somebody else. It usually related to obligation and interest when is individual. The man who is selling the newspaper thinks that "peace" is what it makes life meaningful which had show individual can find their way of life be meaningful, too. All these people are differ from the previous ones, because these people are the ones who like to be independent and go on their own other than with somebody else. It does not mean these people do not have a family or friends, it just seems like they like to do things individually in order make life meaningful to them.

To Be Continued...