The Meaning Of Life

Two years ago I decided to take a course in web development offered at the junior college in town. I figured it was a good skill to learn, even if I would use it only for my own needs. Besides, I thought it would be a great opportunity to meet new people, which I didn’t have a chance to do too much working from home. So with my mind made up and a slightly nervous smile on my face, I went ahead and signed up.

The first few meetings went by really fast, they were very intense and I realized how much I had to learn on the subject. It wasn’t until the fourth or fifth time we met that I decided to stop worrying about what I didn’t know and just have fun with the new skills I was acquiring. That day during the break an older lady sat down next to me and said to me finally. That one word was the beginning of a new friendship.

It turned out that Ruth was sixty-three and was taking the same course. She mentioned that I looked very stressed out to her every time she saw me previously, but that day I finally looked happy to be where I was. I looked at her and I got the feeling that this was a woman that never did things that didn’t make her happy, and I felt a little jealous. As I was about to say it, she looked at her watch and said it was time to go back to class, but if I wanted to, we could grab a coffee afterwards.

That afternoon, over a cup of cappuccino, I heard a story of passion for life, and I learned a valuable lesson. Ruth told me all about her journey to finding the meaning of life. It is a notion that pops up here and there in all of our lives, but most of us forget about it as we get a job, start a family, buy the first house. But not Ruth. She decided back in her early twenties to do everything to find the meaning of life, and to be fulfilled.

 I’ve only really lived in two places and had the same job for the past eight years, so it was amazing to listen to stories of far away travel, living from day to day, working odd jobs as a magician’s assistant or tour guide in The Tower of London. Ruth had a passport full of stamps from places like Morocco or Taiwan, and in each of these places she learned a new skill. When I asked her why she wasn’t in some exotic location, she said she was visiting her sick college roommate and decided to stay a while, but she couldn’t just sit still, so she figured she would try her hand in web development.

I met with Ruth numerous times and still talk to her at least once a week, even though she’s now in France learning to cook after seeing “Julie and Julia”, and I have to say, I think she found the meaning of life. She taught me to do things with passion, and if I didn’t like something in my life, to change it, because there is no point in being unhappy. So I did. I moved to the country, got three dogs, a cat and am now thinking about getting a horse. I still work from home, but not alone anymore. I am a part of a team spread all over the country, we are in touch over the internet and we like to say we play with web design" rather than work. And we definitely do it with passion.