What+is+the+meaning+of+Life?

The meaning of life is being thankful for what you have and for having the oppurtunity to be alive. Because it's better than nothing, as long you have your health and the many abilities God has given you, you'll be alright.In the story, "An Episode of War", the lieutenant's right arm was shot as he was dividing coffee. His arm lost a lot of blood as that occured and realized that this arm isn't going to last much longer. It wouldn't be possible to be able to live with that arm. One of his troops tied a rag around his arm hoping to prevent any more bleeding from the arm but it wasn't good enough to support that kind of damage. He had no choice but to cut off his arm in order to live. So he went to a surgeon, he examined it and told him that he needed to saw that arm off as soon as possible, the arm was no good to him anymore. He didn't like it but it had to be done. He was still happy or thankful that he still had his health.

This quote from the lieutenant opened my eyes and helped me realize the value of life, “Oh, well,” “I don’t suppose it matters so much as all that.”

Life is very tough. It may be unfair to loose an arm or a leg or maybe even an eye. But at least you can still have the power to be able to live given by God. There may be many things people haven't experienced yet like getting married or retirement or just celebrating birthdays for living through out another year. Being given a second chance to live out your life is a wonderful gift to take advantage of. You never know what's coming at you. Life is full of mysteries & unexpected events, so take precautions. If I were in the lieutenant's situation I'd be very devastated to lose an body limb that I've used everyday. But I'd be thankful to God that He would give me the power to grant life. I wouldn't care about losing a body part I would be really thankful to be able to live through out my life and experience more events and new discoveries with my family and friends and die happy.1204130016

I think the meaning of like in the story //An Episode of War// is to put in perpsective the things that we take for granted in life. We need to realize that we are all very fortuante kids living lives that some kids only dream of. Going to school, getting an education, having friends, having a loving family, being able to eat whatever and whenever we want, having a roof to live under, etc. are all things that are seriously some people's fairytales. We can't take for granted what we have. Just like when the guy loses his arm, in a second, everything could be gone. The things that we have and aren't grateful for could be ripped out of our hands in a matter of seconds. A perfect example is the people who were affected in Hurricane Katrina. They were living normal lives then, BAM! out of nowhere the lives that they were living were gone, washed away, and there was nothing they could do about it. Nothing is ever going to be the same. They were left with nothing. Everyday people are affected by things being taken away in just an instant. My grandmother's life was instantly taken by a heartattack when she still had a long time to live, now i wasn't that affected becuase i was only a baby, but the people that loved her dearly were moved greatly because she was a wonderful person who deserved to live. She had an excellent view about life and was one of those people that everyone just loved. She went to sleep and never woke up. I'm not trying to throw a pity story out there for people to feel sorry or anything, but i just know becuase of how it influnced my family, that we need to live our lives and take NOTHING! for granted. We were given privledged lives by God and need to respect that he gave us the opportunity to live well, so we need to live our lives right because in just a second...it could be gone. 1204159411

The meaning of life according to this story is to not take life for granted, because you might have something one moment and the next it is gone. For example, if you are greedy and you don't care about anything but your earthly needs, you have nothing waiting for you in the end. Also if you don't have something just be thankful for what you have and don't grieve over what you don't have. If you can get better at something work hard to get what you can.

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I think the meaning of life in this story was to cherish what you have because you never know when it will be gone and there is nothing you can do to change it. In the story the lieutenant had his arm amputated even though he told the doctor not to do it. This shows that even people of the utmost control don't always have power over everything, even something such as a medical problem. When the lieutenant comes home, his mother, sisters, and wife are crying because they see the flat sleeve and he says, "Oh, well I don't suppose it matters so much as all that." By this I think he felt shameful infront of his family, but also that he didn't care so much anymore that he had lost his arm. This story teaches me not to take things for granted so much because it can be gone in a matter of seconds. 1204171220KCa

I think that in life, everyone is givin a task and somehow through life, we complete it. We can either grow as a person or have a change in heart, but i think that when everyone is born, they are here to help someone, or to change something. Some of the things that we do can affect other people's lives and we might not have a clue. A simple hi in the hallway or complementing someone can change so many things. I think people underestamate the power each individual has. We can whatever we want and whenever we want and somethings are taken for granted. In the story //An episode of War// the main character's arm is being amputated and he could lose everything all at once but he has faith to be strong and make it through this. I think that he was strong because his whole family was upset that his arm was gone, but instead of looking at the situation as a lose-lose situation, he looked at it in a positive way and said that things could be a lot worse and he might not even be here. I think that life's about getting through the bumpy parts in the road because that's not what is going to matter, what's going to matter is the fact that we've completed our journey in life and hopefully have helped some along the way.1204239138ape2

I believe that no matter what kind of person you are your life will always be worth something and no one in this world is meant to say if one should die or should live. I as a catholic would say that life is a preparation of the begginning of life and that after death something that can be much better awaits wich is what i am trying to reach while believing in God and having faith in him. So that i can live another life that may be more peaceful than the one that we have today. If everyones life is so valuable than why are we always having war?? 1204247631hre

This subject is a little difficult to understand in my opinion. I mean, the meaning of life can be expressed in many different ways depending on the persons view. But ,my opinion ties into this story "An Episode of War" we are reading in class. To start off, I think that in life there is no such thing as justice. Here's the deal. Tradegy might not be fair or equal, But it isn't random. Yes, there is a meaning, I'm giving that away early here. However, I believe that bad things usually happen to forcefully slap us out of whatever slump we are in at the time. We are supposed to start questioning our beliefs. We are supposed to figure out what is and what is not important to us. Lets be honest, people usually don't change unless they feel pain that gives that extra push to help us achieve what we want in life. Change takes energy. Nothing energizes like tragedy. Suffering usually helps us to encourage us to avoid suffering in the future. Trust me, this is not rocket science. If tragedy seems random and cruel now, it isn't. Do not get mad at God/the universe/or life in general. Do what you're supposed to do, pick your butt up off the ground and try again. Nobody likes a crybaby. Be a proactive person. No matter what has happened to you, I garuntee someone has gone through something worse. But you can't get out of it by training to be a full time coach potato and giving up. That usually makes it worse. Athletes must tolerate a certain level of pain and mental blocks to reach their goals. You are no different. As for the constant blaming of God for all the injustice of loved ones getting killed, that has its own purpose. Please, don't ask unanswerable questions about other peoples scenerios ; youve got enough to worry about with your own situations. If you get tragically killed, then you'll understand. Until then, forget it. It's time to start realizing that life is made for questions. God gave us these brilliant minds for a reason. It's our job as humans to question life and its meaning. And my answer, there is no such thing as justice, nothing is equal. Whoever said that life was mean't to be fair is insane. Look around you, nothing is fair. Anything good or bad that happens is either from working hard or depending on the scenerio, not working at all. When a loved one dies or is dianosed with a life threatning disease, its just a bad coincidence! Do you honestly think that God is punishing that person ? No, God created us now its up to us to find our inner happiness even through tradegies. 1204249799

I enjoyed reading the responses to this poem in regards to what a true meaning to life may be.While reading these stories relating to the Civil War, I've realized how much we take our life for granite and how we should appreciate it in any for or way possible. No matter how many times we say we hate your lifestlye, deep down inside we should be more than grateful. The majority of us have so much to offer, yet we complain about the smallest things such as hair, clothes, and other pointless things. While we fret about the less important things in life we should look back at those who feared for nothing but their own lives during the time of the Civil War. Their survival and the most important things to them such as family and shelter was all put on the line based on an un-needed war. I think if we all tried to feel the same way most people did during this time, we'd have a bigger appreciation on life and what we could do with it. Instead of wasting time doing things that don't matter for our future, we could do something that'd make not only ourselves and the people around us, but perhaps even our country a better place. 1204255301

I happen to believe that our soul purpose on this earth is to be happy. Everyone has a different on happiness and i believe that if you are happy God can not ask anymore of you. God is such a loving being that if you believe in him putting you here for a reason it could only be to see you have a good happy and fulfilling life. I believe that God gives everyone the chance to be happy, it is their job to find how. I think that no one should worry about what other people think about them. If you are happy with who you are dont let anyone change you. Because God loves you he will continually give you chances to be happy with your life and who you are. If you make the wrong decisions i still believe that God will give you the chance to change and be happy with whatever you have. And in doing so you are fulfilling your purpose of being here. 1204507247

I think that Andy is right, we should find enjoyment in life. Not only in the "fun" things, but we should learn to appreciate everything we are given. I think that happiness is something that we can all have as long as we want it. It doesn't matter of your a billionaire or if you live in the ghetto, everyone can be happy if they want to be. I think that we all have things to be happy about, reading stories like this helps me to appreciate, what i have because things could be so much worse, we could be living in a country torn by civil war, we could be slaves, or we could be missing arms and legs. When you look at it like this, it is hard not to be happy. mme

I think that the meaning of life is to find why you are here. To find what you were put on this earth to do and be. Because everybody in some way shape or form effects somebody elses life in a way. What if people like Martin Luther King Jr, or Abraham Lincoln didn't do what they did. How would the world be different. But at the same time nobody really knows what their meaning was in life till there life is over. Its all about the blueprint you left in the world, when your gone. And also like its been said before to not take the things that we do have in life for granted. Today a lot of people are always wanting and wanting, but they never really take the time to step back and say, wow look at what I allready have. Thats not a easy thing to do, but when it does occur its always good to say thank you for what I do have, and also for the things that u just don't realize like food, and a home. 1204724665

I think the meaning of life is for us to interact and to impact eachother to make the right decsions. The greatest contrabution is the good things people do because those things impact us and can impact some one elses life. The perfect world I always pictured was just like the commercial were everyone was watching out for one another. I think everyone is different and everyone can learn from one another becuase like MME said it doesnt matter if you have money or not life can never go as you planned. I agree that this is linked to war. Some people take life for granted. They just coast by and never know what hit them. I mean these people always are just selfish and just dont pay attention to the person next to one another. We need to appreciate how really good life is and that no matter what anything is better than being in a war. I think the people that start wars are the peopel that take there life for granted. War is just the last resort and it is terrible the effects it has and it really does ruin the meaning of life. How is war going to impact to make us the right descsion. Well we all could say to stop war, well like thats really working. 1204754663ale2

I think that the meaning of life in An Episode of War is you never appreciate something until it's gone. Also, you never think bad things will happen to you. In the beginning of the story, it showed the complete awe that the lieutenant's men were showing towards the situation, like they couldn't believe something bad would happen to someone so close to them. They didn't understand that things didn't last forever, and people have bad luck. Probably the lieutenant's men were very young, maybe eighteen, and hadn't experienced such tragety before. The lieutenant made the best of the situation, and tried to stay positive, even though he did end up being tricked by the doctor, and he lost his arm. This story is kind of strange, and it was difficult for me to find a deeper meaning until we talked about it as a class. That usually helps my understanding of the things we read a lot. 1205117850

I agree with the above. This story really shows a lot of great aspects of war like I said in other posts, but I never looked at the aspects of life the story touches. The lieutenant gets shot in the arm and amputation has to be considered. Me as an athlete and a very active person could never imagine having to lose a limb let alone a finger. The lieutenant takes the idea with a grain of salt though. Maybe not the just the thought of losing an arm, no, the lieutenant didn’t look at it that way. The lieutenant looked at his life being compromised or a arm. In that case you think differently when your life is severely threatened. Our bodies go into overdrive in many occasions and that’s when you hear about super human abilities like mothers lifting cars off of their ever loved children. Anyone like me would probably say oh hell I would rather die than live life with a missing arm or leg, but when it comes down to it, your instinct kicks in and something on the inside fears the thought of dying so much that most people would do anything to avoid it. The lieutenant takes it with point of view and tells the field doctor “Oh well” because life is more important. I like stories like this that describe and event that you can relate too no matter what the age or year the world is in.1205193855

I think that in our lives we are given a task to fulfill and we are hear to change someone life. We can grow as people on this earth or change someone else. We may think we are here on earth to be an athlete or a model but really we are here to serve God. Every big change starts with a lot of little ones. Maybe next time someone drops their pen instead of letting them get it you can pick it up for them. I think that people don’t know how much of an impact they have on each other. I think that with a little bit of will power and a lot of faith we can find out for ourselves what we are meant for and succeed at it. 1205205481]The meaning to life is obviously a very hard question to answer. But this story definitely put it into perspective for me. It pointed out that you need to enjoy every second of the life that you have because nothing lasts forever. Never regret mistakes because they make you who you are, always trust your instincts because you know you better than anyone else does, and live for the high times but also for the disappointments because they'll help build the person that you hope to become. I got so much more than I ever thought that I would from this story and I'm so glad that we read it. [[user:nla1|1205285269

I think the meaning of life is to be the best person you can be. You have to treat people with the greatest respect. We are all put on earth for a reason. No one knows what you are here for thats why when you are givin the chancees you have to take and become a successful person not only in work wise but love wise to. I think one of the main things to life is reproduction because some of the greatest people to ever live were clearly made by mommy and daddy. You will never you could have a kid who could find the cure for cancer, but who knows your just got to be a great as you can be. Even if you make mistakes just get right back up and try again. Thats the good thing about life it gives you so many chances and one of those times you have to take the chance.1205370668

I agree with MAP2. Just to reiterated what i was saying to make an impact on someone you need to be the best person you need to be. You need to treat others as you want to be treated you need to follow the golden rule. I was watching this tv show called October Road and it was a hard situation for this one character his dad was just diagnosised with cancer and he was told that he had an oppurtunity of a life time. His dad impacted him into taking the oppurtunity and to live it through him and to use him as an ispiration. Another charter was almost beat to death and his girlfriend cheated on him that night with an employee and while he was in the hostipal bed lying there he was thinking about a time when one of his x-girlfriends came into town and he gave her a kiss and then he ended up telling his girlfriend that this had happened. He really made an impact on his girlfriend and made her turn over her stomach becuase she was soo much in pain for what she had done to him. He impacted her and now she will regret that descion and she will live a clean live and she wont cheat. Every event in life has a lesson and we need to learn it that is the meaning of life to me. 1205381036Ale2

I think the meaning of life is all up to the person. In the story An Episode of War the lieutennant's meaning of life was probably to fight and lead his troops which is very obvious because thats what he does and knows so thats his meaning of life. One time in sacraments class Mr. Sedlacek told us the meaning of life was only three words: Go to Heaven. I think that would be the meaning of life in his eyes because he is obviously very religious. But what about for a person that didn't have religion? Would they then not have a meaning to life? I think you make your own meaning of life for yourself. A doctors may be to help save and cure people. Or a teachers would be to help teach the youth of the world. Everyone has their own meaning and I don't think there can be a right or wrong one.1205464583

I think the meaning of life is to live each day to the fullest. I think that we should all be thanksful for the gift that God has given to us. I think that because of the different circumstances in which humans lose their lives, we need to cherish the gift that we have and not take any moment for granted. So many people have to suffer due to the loss of a loved one, that we need to learn to live in the present and to be grateful for everything that we have been given. Life is such a precious gift that, sometimes i think people don't realize what they have till its gone, so because of that i think living life is the most important thing anyone can do. 1205470014