The Meaning of Life

Characters- a bartender, a retired baseball player, a businessman, and philosopher

Setting- in a rundown bar, late at night


The businessman was depressed as he ordered his 8 oz drink. The bartender noticed the businessman

Bartender- “hey son, why so down?”

Businessman looked up from his Guinness- “I’m realizing my life has no meaning, I find myself waking up every mourning to house full of kids and my wife who is ready to leave me, then I go to work, spend 12 hours in 12”x6” cubical, with a boss who doesn’t respect anything I do”

Bartender looked at him sympathetically- hey son; does anybody know the meaning of life? I mean that’s a question that has infinite questions, don’t ya think?

The bartender looked at the philosopher- “hey you! What’s your view on the meaning of life?


The philosopher intellectually chimed in-

“Well I have ran into this question myself before, most people who ask for the "Meaning" of Life are actually seeking an Answer to their sense of lacking purpose, and they want to be told what the purpose or intent of life is. Life has no meaning, inasmuch as an empty glass has no meaning. The glass only has meaning when you fill it halfway, because then you have done something incompletely, and have therefore failed. Or, on the other hand, perhaps you had filled the glass completely but only drank it halfway down, in which case you have still failed at something. There will always be somebody in your life that has been given the authority to convince you that your life is incomplete and therefore needs to be explained, explored or repaired. Whether this be an intentional discourse or a mere assessment on your part, it is still an intrusion against the "self," and this causes weakness in your self-esteem, gives rise to fears of an impending Identity Crisis. You're too established in your ways to have Identity Crises, and you don't understand the thoughts that arise from an Existential Crisis, so you run around inside your head, wondering what the meaning of Life could possibly be. It cannot be what you used to think, because if it were true, you wouldn't be doubting it”


The bartender looked at the old, retired baseball player at the end of the bar- “hey you, Samuel, hey help this man out, you seem to be somebody who’s gotten a lot out of life and pursued many goals, What’s your secret?

The retired baseball player took a sip of his drink and slowly lifted his head to look at them-“You know, -- My life hasn’t been all good, I look back years later and wonder why my relationships have fallen apart and why I feel so empty, even though I may have achieved what I set out to accomplish. I am an athlete who had reached the pinnacle of my sport. I was once asked what I wished someone would have told me when I first started playing this sport. I replied, “I wish that someone would have told me that when you reach the top, there's nothing there.” Many goals reveal their emptiness only after years have been wasted in their pursuit

The bartender and the businessman looked at each other awkwardly.

But finally the businessman took in what the philosopher said- “I realized it’s not what job I have or my wife divorcing me, those were only the negative things in his life but the meaning of life were waking up each and enjoying my kids, which are the more positive things in life.