Why do we design things in the first place? Is there an innate desire within human beings to create? And if so, where does that longing come from? I wonder how many countless individuals have asked these questions. These are deep, probing queries, and are not to be taken lightly. If we are to infuse our designs with meaning, we must understand what meaning is.
Philosophers have pondered over the origin of truth and meaning for centuries. The result is a confused generation of people who have lost their sense of belonging. We are told that we are an accident. Random chance governs our universe. Ultimately, there is no meaning, except for meaninglessness. Er go, the best philosophy is to live in the moment, and enjoy life while you have the chance. There is no rhyme or reason to life. You are born, you live, you die.
This is an over-generalization, of course. There are not many people who would put things so bluntly. Yet, in its essence, this sums up the prevailing mindset of our generation. This attempt to explain the creative desires and longings of humanity leaves me feeling hollow. It is incomplete somehow. Lacking. Because there is no meaning. Why isn't there any purpose to life? Why does this answer leave me drowning in nothingness?
People do not wish to accept that life is void of purpose. Perhaps irrationally, we feel the need to create meaning. Our art reflects our longing to attain some sort of purpose. Our music strives to communicate meaning. MeaningPurposeReasonLogicLongingMeaning... A cyclical loop that always comes back to the same desire: meaning.
Deep inside, we want it to be true. We want to believe that good always triumphs over evil. We want the happily ever after. These desires resonate with people universally. Our design mirrors it. We create stories, and movies, and art, and music, because we want to uncover the meaning behind it all.
Out of this desire, I penned a poem several months ago. It was written during a sleepless night, in which I had spent tossing and turning in my bed, like so many of us do. I could not rest until I had completed the work. The title of my piece is He Is No Fool.
You are young, you are free
With little or no responsibility
You have big dreams,
Your whole life is ahead of you
They tell you to reach for the stars
Because they know you are a dreamer
But happy endings are so cliche
You are just to naive to know
That its all been done before
You are not the first one to hope
But after all has been said and done you find
That there is nothing new under the sun.
You've tasted the salty sting of tears
Seen some sorrow through the years
Had laughter shake you to your soul
You've felt both joy and pain.
Life, it seems, is bittersweet,
Like dancing in the rain
Happy endings are so cliche
You are old enough to know
That its all been done before
But you have not lost the hope
That there is something more to life
Even if there is nothing new under the sun.
So hold fast to hope
Because what you long for is true
Throw away what you cannot keep
To gain what you cannot lose.
Life, you've seen, is bittersweet,
Like dancing in the rain
Happy endings are so cliche
But we all wish they were real
The earth keeps spinning, round and round,
The sun rises, and the sun sets
Until the end of time has dawned
And man's hope made manifest.
Philosophers have pondered over the origin of truth and meaning for centuries. The result is a confused generation of people who have lost their sense of belonging. We are told that we are an accident. Random chance governs our universe. Ultimately, there is no meaning, except for meaninglessness. Er go, the best philosophy is to live in the moment, and enjoy life while you have the chance. There is no rhyme or reason to life. You are born, you live, you die.
This is an over-generalization, of course. There are not many people who would put things so bluntly. Yet, in its essence, this sums up the prevailing mindset of our generation. This attempt to explain the creative desires and longings of humanity leaves me feeling hollow. It is incomplete somehow. Lacking. Because there is no meaning. Why isn't there any purpose to life? Why does this answer leave me drowning in nothingness?
People do not wish to accept that life is void of purpose. Perhaps irrationally, we feel the need to create meaning. Our art reflects our longing to attain some sort of purpose. Our music strives to communicate meaning. MeaningPurposeReasonLogicLongingMeaning... A cyclical loop that always comes back to the same desire: meaning.
Deep inside, we want it to be true. We want to believe that good always triumphs over evil. We want the happily ever after. These desires resonate with people universally. Our design mirrors it. We create stories, and movies, and art, and music, because we want to uncover the meaning behind it all.
Out of this desire, I penned a poem several months ago. It was written during a sleepless night, in which I had spent tossing and turning in my bed, like so many of us do. I could not rest until I had completed the work. The title of my piece is He Is No Fool.
You are young, you are free
With little or no responsibility
You have big dreams,
Your whole life is ahead of you
They tell you to reach for the stars
Because they know you are a dreamer
But happy endings are so cliche
You are just to naive to know
That its all been done before
You are not the first one to hope
But after all has been said and done you find
That there is nothing new under the sun.
You've tasted the salty sting of tears
Seen some sorrow through the years
Had laughter shake you to your soul
You've felt both joy and pain.
Life, it seems, is bittersweet,
Like dancing in the rain
Happy endings are so cliche
You are old enough to know
That its all been done before
But you have not lost the hope
That there is something more to life
Even if there is nothing new under the sun.
So hold fast to hope
Because what you long for is true
Throw away what you cannot keep
To gain what you cannot lose.
Life, you've seen, is bittersweet,
Like dancing in the rain
Happy endings are so cliche
But we all wish they were real
The earth keeps spinning, round and round,
The sun rises, and the sun sets
Until the end of time has dawned
And man's hope made manifest.
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