Saturday, April 21, 2007

The meaning of life is 42

Thanks to Douglas Adams (sadly no longer with us) for the revelation that the meaning of life is the number 42. I think it comes from his book "Thanks for all the fish".

After the terrible events of last week in Virginia in the USA, I needed to remind myself of the fundamentals of what makes life worth living. My condolences to all those affected.

My preferred explanation of the meaning of life actually comes from Emerson

" To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch...to know even one life has breathes easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."

3 comments:

Pat said...

And my condolences to you also, Mummy. We are, clearly, all affected by these types of tragedies. Although the real tragedy is that so many of them seem to occur here in the USA.

The Phosgene Kid said...

Nice sentinment. I like to leave 'em laughing myself...

The Phosgene Kid said...

I think another element of success is to have slapped the living daylights out of stupid people as you crossed their path through life.