The meaning of life

We all look for it.  We all strive to discover it.  We all give a large part of ourselves in order to find it.

The meaning of life is, in my opinion, different for all of us.

Whether by religious standards, personal moralities, or the work we do day in and day out... we all want to find out... what are we working towards?

For a single mother, her meaning of life could be to raise her son.  She could envelop herself in this definition and let it encompass her entire being.  She would treat every day as a goal to raise him and wouldn't rest that night until she felt that she had done everything in her power to set a good example, feed him properly, teach him the lessons she was taught at a young age, and so on.

For a father of four, married to the love of his life, his meaning of life could be, well, different.  It could be several sentences long.  For instance...

His meaning of life is to have a happy and fulfilled day, to kiss his wife at least once before the day was through, to engage his children in meaningful conversation before bed time, and to sit down in his home office to pay bills.

The funny thing about society, in my eyes anyways, is that people would look at the two individuals I've described and think:  the father is happier!  He has the better life!  He wins!

Now without further examination, maybe yeah... he's the happier of the two.  He has someone who can help raise his children, he isn't separated from the mother of his four kids, and gun to his head, he couldn't make a choice to change his life even if he was forced to.

But let's say instead... that the single mother and the husband of four were divorced.  From each other.

The single mother hasn't remarried, like her husband, because she hasn't found her soul mate yet.  She is perfectly content, however, because although she may think about finding him from time to time... she is so happy to have a son that for now, it's more than enough.  She may work or she may not... but however she's a mother... she's a damned good one.

The father of four may seem perfectly happy, with no qualms or worries in his mind.  But he has a son that doesn't live with him.  A son raised by the single mother he divorced.

Now I could launch into a full blown story here about how he misses his son, how the single mother and the father of four divorced, and all that jazz. 

But I won't.

Because I don't want to take away from my first point.

The meaning of life... is, can, may, should, could, was, and shall be different for all of us.

My meaning of life?

To be the best father/son/brother/friend I can be to the people who care about me... and even a few who don't.

And at the end of the night, I can sleep soundly with one single thought.

I'm a lucky guy.