The Meaning of Existence

Paul Noth

To encounter the sacred is to be alive at the deepest center of human existence.

— N. Scott Momaday (Kiowa)

“The meaning of my existence is that life has addressed a question to me. Or, conversely, I myself am a question which is addressed to the world, and I must communicate my answer, for otherwise I am dependent upon the world’s answer.” — C. G.Jung

“In old age one begins to let memories unroll before the mind’s eye and, musing, to recognize oneself in the inner and outer images of the past. This is like a preparation for an existence in the hereafter, just as, in Plato’s view, philosophy is a preparation for death. — C.G. Jung

I have arrived at the age where images of my whole life roll through my mind all night. Something in me is attempting to make sense of my story and to see further and deeper that I did in living it. Putting together the most salient events and the thoughts and expectations behind them draws a picture of a life in which unconscious intentions and a certain blindness were at work.

The major themes of my life are emerging from a fog of unconsciousness. It’s a process that I didn’t expect to happen, but it’s evidently very common for people of my age.