The Meaning of Life

He awoke one morning befuddled, adrift in a world he could not grasp.  At breakfast he told his family he had to go and find the meaning of life.   His search for this meaning started locally, the churches, synagogues, and “learned” teachers.  None could answer his question.  His search expanded.  His wife left him.  His children disowned him.  He exhausted his finances and was ridiculed by his friends.  

He had heard rumors of one high in the mountains of Nepal who might hold the key to his inquiry.  He sold everything, ventured to the mountains, and searched for the holder of such knowledge.  After two years in the mountains, weak, disheveled, penniless and shoeless, he found the “Knowing One”.

Engulfed in the joy of the meeting he asked: “WHAT IS LIFE?”

The “Knowing One” answered softly:  “LIFE IS A RAINBOW”.

In that moment he lost it!!!  Shouting: “What are you, crazy!!”  “Life is a freakin’ rainbow”.

I left my wife, quit my job, my kids hate me, I searched for two years to find you, and you tell me “LIFE IS A RAINBOW?”

The “Knowing One” looked at him sadly and said: “YOU MEAN IT ISN’T!!!”


An old story retold

8/23/2022
Copyright © | Year Posted 2022

Poem

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Wolf Avatar
August 23, 2022 at 6:11 PM
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Never heard it before. Sounds like our searcher only got the rain... Missed out on the bow. Ho, ho. :) gw
Turner Avatar
August 23, 2022 at 7:59 AM
When you said "rainbow" I thought you were going in a "different" direction. The truth is," Life is what you make it." Bad things happen to everyone, it's how you deal with that adversity that determines how far you can go. love the humor John. (the "meaning" Life is the opposite of death)
Hankins Avatar
August 23, 2022 at 7:53 AM
Which just goes to show that no one knows for certain what anything is, especially when it comes to answering these kinds of inquiries. Thanks for telling this meaningful story, John, even if it is "an old story retold."
Rodrigues Avatar
August 23, 2022 at 7:16 AM
LOL! That’s the problem…still Dorothy went over the rainbow to find that there is “no place like home.” Rather the chump should realize that what he left was “it”
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