The question of life’s meaning gains force when we realise that our time is limited. Some see this as a reason to look for a higher plan or divine order that gives our existence direction. Others think that meaning must be made, not found, and that it comes from how we live rather than from what lies beyond us.

One way to approach the problem is to look closely at what makes life feel worthwhile. Activities we value often combine personal engagement with some connection to the world outside ourselves. They give us reasons to get up in the morning and a sense that our efforts matter. Friendships, creative work, and shared projects all draw on this pattern.

Yet there is a tension between the immediacy of living and the awareness of our smallness in the universe. From a detached perspective, the dramas of everyday life can seem fleeting. Instead of collapsing under that perspective, we can treat it as a reminder to live deliberately, choosing commitments that we would still recognise as worthwhile even in the face of life’s brevity.

Meaning may not be a fixed property of life, waiting to be discovered. It may shift as our circumstances, values, and understanding change. What remains constant is the capacity to create significance by linking our energies to things that matter to us and, where possible, to others. In this view, making life matter is less about solving a puzzle than about deciding, over and over, how we want to spend the time we have.

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