Yes, I am a fan of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe the trilogy in five parts by Douglas Adams. I have read the trilogy a few times. I found the sarcasm enlightening, the dismal experiences of Arthur Dent relatable, and the excesses of Zaphod Beeblebrox comparable to arrogant millionaires and billionaires. The answer for the life the universe and everything is 42. Level 42 if you are a British funk-pop fan. Or the number universally retired by Major League Baseball in honor of Jackie Robinson. I’m covering none of this here except for the empty confused feeling Arthur must have felt when he was lifted off of Earth before the Vogon destructor fleet dismantled Earth into bits for the new pangalatic freeway through the Sol System…

Like many philosophers I have given great thought to the meaning of our existence. I wouldn’t even call myself a philosopher… I just think about a lot of things, meander, think, meander, wander, and think so more. So let’s dig into this big question… What is the meaning of our life within the universe and everything??? Here’s a meandering take…

Let’s explore some other point of views. $47 and his cronies think the meaning of existence is wrapped around power and accumulation of wealth to celebrate their self-importance. Religious leaders consider their meaning of life to be one of piety and service to a supreme being that they cannot confirm exists other than through belief and faith abstractions. No, I’m not being disrespectful. I’m trying to be objective. Humanists tend to find meaning into their existence from serving others and making life better for everyone around them in anyway possible without expectation or reward. This option is to be selfless in a world absorbed in the selfish. Is that a meaning, or is that a simply a service designed as meaning?

As I think about this overwhelming concept of being, I find myself looking from the furthest reaches of space that I can imagine and then inward. From this perspective we are infinitely small. I imagine we are nothing more than a tiny electron flitting about our proton and occasionally running into another electron creating a negative or positive ion very briefly. We are just an insignificant part of the energy displaced across the universe. What we do really has no impact on the infinite reaches of our universe. We are at the mercy of cosmic forces that defy description.

Our life expectancy is incredibly tiny. Our existence as a species is also incredibly tiny when we consider how long a billion years is, or the 4.2-4.5 billion years our planet is old. If we compressed this existence into one year mathematically we would pop up sometime in the evening on December 31, mathematically. So, historically insignificant when placed into geological and biological time.

There have been tens of billions of our species to have lived on our planet. A special few have advanced our species forward. We read about their work in books, or watch television documentaries about how wonderful they were historically. Some have advanced our systems of government, economics, sciences, or funded educational institutions to improve the arts, humanities, stem research, or athletics. Others have advanced accomplishments thought impossible through training. Running marathons of 100 miles or more or jumping from the edge of space and breaking the sound barrier come to mind. All of this is very cool, but 99% of us just take up space consuming oxygen and resources without significantly impacting the order of the community we live in let alone steer our county, state, country, continent, planet, or solar system in anyway.

Sure sure… Some people have published things. Others have made art that will outlast us. We collect things of value to us and know these will be handed down as heirlooms to family members, but what impact does this have on the universe? Nothing, Nada, Zip, Zero… its as cold as ice… on Charon…

Let’s face it, our meaning of life needs to come from within. It doesn’t come from wealth, things, accomplishments, etc. It comes from our significant relationships with people and animals. Our simple meaning is derived from how we care for others. We are remembered by those that outlive us from these simple actions. Outside of this we have very little impact on the universe, but we can sure make it special for those around us if we make it a priority.

Every time I think about the bullshit 47, the bad catholic, tesla boy, facebook dude, or amazon boy is doing, I am reminded about our mortality. One day mortality will arrive and the meaning of his life will be determined by the relationships and deeds rather than the wealth and power. I expect the same will be said of me when that day arrives. Mortality waits for no one it just arrives and life meets its bittersweet conclusion. How do you want your meaning to be carried forward by your ancestors or historians? Mortality is the great equalizer and as time passes we begin to find out who the people really were.

President George Washington is considered an admirable man historically. His work as president helped steer a young country forward and set many legal precedents. Was he really a good man or was he motivated by vanity and pride? For every good thing he did there were thousands of bad things. His home in Mt. Vernon reminds us of this. There are hundred if not thousands of men, women, and children buried up the hill from his mausoleum. No headstones, no names, just remains of people without a meaning that served the first president as enslaved labor. I think about this every time… what is his true meaning??? It is pretty insignificant isn’t it… Even Washington’s meaning is pretty small in the broad scope of the universe. We are all so small regardless of our accomplishments and our mistakes… (Side-note, I’m glad to see the Mt. Vernon establishment doing archeological work to identify and recognize these lost souls. Let’s give these people dignity and meaning.)

Johann Sebastian Bach is another historical figure that graces my thoughts. He wrote so much music and most of it for religious purposes in Germany. According to some biographies he was an ill-tempered musician and teacher. His skills as a composer and musician were so vast and broad that mere mortals would receive his wrath for failing to meet his standards. His music serves a supreme being made out of faith and belief. His cantatas, chorales, fantasias, sonatas, concertos, and preludes and fugues all provided an immense amount of material to be studied and used to drive the creation of new music. All for a God he could not verify existed beyond his own heart or superstition. We included his music on the record currently traveling on the Voyager spacecraft that just left our solar system. What is his meaning beyond the musical artifacts? Important? or mostly insignificant? If his music is found by extra-terrestrial life will it have aesthetic or mathematical importance to the universe? He seems incredibly tiny in the scope of the universe, despite his larger than life persona in my musical experience.

Lastly, Norman Borlaug always crosses my mind when thinking of significant meanings to. Borlaug was Iowan whose work in agronomy and plant pathology created hybrid crops that could withstand harsh environments. His work saved more lives than any human being can directly or indirectly take credit for. I remember him not for his Nobel prize or his presidential medals. I remember him as I drive by endless fields of corn, soybeans, wheat, sorghum, and other agricultural commodities. Without him our quality of life has no meaning. His work allowed farmers to feed the world. Of the men mentioned here I see Norman Borlaug as having a life of meaning that has touched everyone on this planet. He is a man of signifigance. The rest of us here are electrons within his massive atomic number. His work has affected our planet, and one day maybe another planet in another solar system… He is worthy of more than a school or two named after him. Maybe a terraforming spaceship in the future can be named the S.S. Norman Borlaug. Its continuing mission to feed the colonies and beyond.

When I think of the Life the Universe and Everything I find myself reducing myself and everyone around me to our atomic elements. Our insignificance. We really are not that important or influential in the day to day by ourselves. When we work together we can be more influential, but only a special few like Norman Borlaug can be considered enormous influencers full of meaning. Imagine if we had more leaders like him? What kind of meaning could we derive of our lives then? On days like these I find that breaking everything down to its smallest part it makes things more democratic. We all face the same things: mortality, meaning, and remembrance. How do we want to be thought of? What meaning do we want to leave for our relationships? This is the great equalizer. How do we fit into life the universe, and everything? We are all the same… atomically… …so it goes…