The Meaning Of Life – Prose – Jan ‘04

Someone once asked me what I thought the meaning of life was. At the time, I was struggling to cope with many horrific aspects of my past. I was lost in a sea of despair and clouds of blinding depression that I could not appear to fathom my way out of. Lately, however, I find myself reminiscing and pondering that question and if asked now I would be in no doubt as to what to answer.

The reason we live is simple when you think about. We live for them times when you are sat at home on a Saturday night alone; it is raining outside and the crash of the thunder almost drowns out the sound of television playing your favourite slushy movie. The story is unoriginal – a woman sees a man and falls instantly in love, they have a few problems at the beginning of their relationship but soon, everything settles into place and they are destined for a long and happy, love filled life together. You are tucked up in bed with the biggest, softest blanket imaginable with an old teddy bear you were given at just two-years-old that is literally falling apart at the seams. You are transfixed with the story, utterly lost in that perfect dream world where everything is perfect and magical. Unlike your own life what you are witnessing is something close to heaven but tonight the anger and sadness does not appear and you are not forced to switch the television off at the first signs of infatuation. Instead, you embrace the strong emotions and look closely at that woman, staring dreamily out of the coffee shop window lost in love-struck thought, and realise that it mirrors your exact expression.

There, only just visible under the layers of blanket, you realise that you are in love. Anyone staring into your eyes would recognise that what reflects in them is the truest love from the very bottom of a once broken heart. I say once because it is no longer broken because someone came along who had also had his heart broken and created something beautiful. He collected the pieces of both hearts and built them again using parts from both, making them more special and fulfilled than you ever thought possible. You are fused together as one, moulded into soul mates for eternity.

Now your life is brimming with smiles and laughter, where once it was completely devoid of anything positive. He is the one you call when you have an argument with your closest friends or when you hear the latest gossip. He is the one with smudged mascara on his shoulder and white knuckles where is has been holding on to you for so long when you thought you could not go on. He held on through thick and thin, even when you tried desperately to push him away. He does not even notice when your hair is not straight or you have a crease in your shirt because to him you are beauty personified. You can lay with him for hours on end and find yourself transfixed as you watch the moonlight twinkle in his eyes. His arms are your safe haven and his words lift your mood from the deepest crevice conceivable. You know you can trust with your life and know he would risk his to protect you from anything that could possibly hurt you. You know that you can weather any storm as long as he is by your side. When he looks into your eyes and tells you he loves, you that you are his angel and he could not imagine ever being with someone else, you know that it is true. The best thing about it is that everything I have said can be reversed. You see, you are his true love and he is yours.

So the answer is simple.

The meaning of life is love.