Campbell quote: Rapture of being alive
Posted by omohundro on March 7, 2008
People say that what we’re all seeking is
a meaning for life.
I don’t think that’s what we’re really seeking.
I think what we’re seeking is
an experience of being alive,
so that our life experiences
on the purely physical plane
will have resonances
within our own innermost being and reality,
so that we actually feel
the rapture of being alive.
Joseph Campbell
July 6, 2008 at 7:49 pm
This is a great quote. I hadn’t considered that truly understanding the meaning of life would trigger immediate action aligned with the new found sense of purpose. I tend to think of “discovering the meaning of life” as a more contemplative undertaking, but it’s probably more likely to be discovered “in flow” and action. Certainly Randy Pausch’s “Last Lecture” (http://www.thelastlecture.com/) is an example of someone fully living their life and imparting some hard won wisdom in the process.