A Meaningful Life

A MEANINGFUL LIFE is a book about living purposefully and composedly in today s world of strife, turmoil, uncertainty, and competitive survival. The recognition is that, with a stable, intelligently derived sense of meaning, anyone can weather any storm with courage and composure, or, as stated by Friedrich Nietzsche, If we have our own why in life, we shall get along with almost any how. Without it, today s youth are burdened by feelings of uncertainty, loneliness, fear, depression, or despair, leaving a hole in the soul they cannot comprehend, far less fill. The consequence is the irresistible attraction to alcohol, drugs, entertainment, reckless sexual encounters, or activities that cause harm to self or others just to escape these feelings or get comfort even, if superficial or fleeting. Real meaning can only be reached through logic and scientifically sound reasoning, a personal and individually driven exercise. This book uses dialogue that critically examines the nature of self, of theism, and of our physical reality to guide the reader to achieve that objective for themselves or to guide someone in their charge to do so. It does not offer ten easy answers or twelve rules to follow. It will, instead, dissect science, philosophy, and theology to reach a logical revelation of human existence in a world of perpetual change, showing that we are more than a composite of flesh slated only to survive but a real, though invisible existence, the soul, with a mandate to grow to be the best we can be.