Will's Sojourn to find the meaning of life
Journey along with Will. Discover what events in his life have brought him to this quest..
 
Will's writing, stories, and essays on the Meaning of life
 
The Letter writing campaign
I have embarked on a letter writing campaign to many people of the world asking them what they think the meaning of life is. Read the letter, and read the list of people I have sent it to. See their responses, if I get any. As of August 2, 2005 there have been no responses.
 
The Question in a bottle
I will be sending out notes in a bottle. You can keep track of how that is going here. Have I received any replies?
 
People
What do people say the meaning of life is? Learn more here
 
Books
What famous, and not so famous books are there about the meaning of life?
   
Movies
The meaning of life has been covered in movies. Learn more about them.
   
What Comes Next
Inquiries into what happens to us after we die.
   
More
the meaning of life has been explored in many different ways by many different people from music to poetry. Learn more about it here.
   
Quotes
Read quotes about the meaning of life
   
The Blog
Here you can get Will's daily thoughts on his quest.
   
The Bulletin Board
Join the Google group. Here you can read what other people have to say about the meaning of life. You can also post your own thoughts.
   
The Golden Rule:
There is one very important rule that must be followed in this quest. Find out what it is.
   
My Personal website where I have a lot of searching essays about my life and the meaning of it: 2007 - 2008 - 2009
   

 

Sailing and the meaning of life

In New England sailing is viewed with reverence. It is in our blood and held in an almost mystical/spiritual light.  
   

I have a friend with a large sailboat. He talks about it and thinks about it a lot. There is a definite aura around sailing -particularly here in New England where the pilgrims landed and for hundreds of years men have been sailing out to sea in search of glory and adventure, or just whales and fish.

So when we finally connected and settled on a day I would join him for a sail I was excited. "Maybe I would get an insight into the meaning of life". After all, sailing was wrapped in a magical cloud that brought up the images of money, moby dick, the Kennedy's and Hemingway.

I packed up my digital camera and my notepad and we spent a day on the ocean.

It was a great day. We talked about Bradbury and Women and his dream of sailing across the Atlantic. But no revelation came to me. I didn't have a breakthrough on the meaning of life. Oh well, guess I should keep trying.

Later that day when I was lying on my couch enjoying the warm exhaustion that a day on the ocean brings a short story came to me. It came fully realized, is Bradbury-esque and takes place on a sailboat.

This gave me a real sense of satisfaction. Something deeper had come out of my day of sailing. It wasn't what I was looking for but it was something that was deeply important to me. I got something to write about it.

If I reflect on this it gives me a chill. I went out looking for the meaning of life and I came back with a story. There is always the possibility that I did find the meaning of my life. Am I meant to write stories? Is it as simple as that? Is this the meaning of life for me?

"What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general, but rather the specific meaning of a person's life at a given moment." --Viktor Frankl

   
If you want to read the Story I will post it here