“You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.” ~ Albert Camus

Albert Camus said we shouldn’t analyze happiness or the meaning of life too much, otherwise they elude us. Socrates, on the other hand, apparently said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”

My impression is that many people are searching for these two important things, and they are often deeply intertwined. Personally I think that finding happiness and meaning in life requires some courage and taking risk. Henry David Thoreau may have agreed with me. He said, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” (I interpret this as, afraid to take the leap to find their own fulfillment and happiness, but that is just my take on it.)

Confused yet? Perhaps the real point here is that the source of happiness and meaning in any person’s life is extremely personal to them, so let’s “live and let live”.

Reverence for life and respect for others is (I think) an important part of the journey, and therein may lie the seed of an answer. When we get out of ourselves (and therefore out of our own way), and when we focus more on what we can do for others, we begin to find happiness and meaning. So Albert may have been right all along…

Or, as the people at Nike would say, “Just do it”.