Madness and meaning

12.3.2026 

Afterthoughts of a conversation i had with my mother about the future, and what we are to do as people in our personal lives

“The greatest thing we can do in life is find something to live for” she says, words filled with wisdom and confidence

“Which may be?” I respond. Young, inexperienced, yet fierce

“Anything” she exclaims 

“Anything that gives you meaning”

The search for meaning has been an unspoken goal for the human race for years and years. Ruthlessly fighting to find something to live and die for, we cling to it, In constant search for something to fill the hole of reality in our chests, and to stand above all others in life and death, gazing at our grave with eyes burnt with passion. 

Some find it in greatness, in fulfillment to its core. Some see it in the creation of life, as a permanent addition to the universe itself. Some find it in career or love, While some look for it in freedom. 

Yet as all things, the options narrow as we grow older. Our steps get slower, our minds sharper, some are forced to re-shape their dreams into the adult mold of reality, while some, crushed by the weight of it, stop dreaming at all. 

It’s inevitable, a part of our nature.

And is the term meaning objective? Two women may be buried beside each other, one’s smile is drawn in another human’s face, and one’s soul is engraved in paintings, lying covered in a room fill of dusts. Some may argue that one’s reason to live had been greater than the other’s, yet in this moment all they are is food for worms, hand in hand eternally.

Between our first and last breaths, we spend every living moment looking for meaning. We think deeply for it, letting thoughts and questions fill our wandering minds. We search for it in our sleep, pulling the tender strings of our subconsciousness in our dreams to try and find the few aspects of our lives that mean something. We long to find a reason, as blind as a man left stranded in a dark room, spreading his hands in front of him to try and find the light.

And as all others, I search for it too