She echoes Merton’s message about the importance of valuing others in this quote. Patrick O’Brian, 1970 indignationįrench philosopher Simone de Beauvoir wrote about what she had learned in her older years in the text The Coming of Age. Simone de Beauvoir, The Coming of Age, trans. One’s life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship, indignation, compassion. In his essay “Love and Need,” he describes love as destiny, “something that is to happen or has happened to a particular person or thing lot or fortune.” This was part of his overall message, which we see in the second part of this quote: community is a key source of love and support.

Thomas Merton was a Trappist monk who devoted his life to theological study and social justice. Thomas Merton, Love and Living, 1979 destiny

We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone-we find it with another. These words of insight from great thinkers can help us understand what is really important. The following 12 quotes describe the meaning of life as everything from love to changing the world to engaging with reality. “What is the meaning of life?” This question has been debated for millennia by philosophers, theologians, artists, and everyday people who can’t sleep.

Wild at heart meaning of life quotes