The meaning of life in three modes
The mode of being, the mode of doing and the mode of becoming
A friend recently recommended I listen to Daniel Schmactenberger, so I watched the marathon 4-hour interview of Daniel on the Lex Fridman podcast.
2 hours and 46 minutes into the interview, Lex casually asks Daniel, “What is the meaning of life?” After giving some clarifications about the scope and definition of the terms, Daniel provides a simple yet compelling framework for a meaningful life from the perspective of an individual.
The framework consists of three modes: the mode of being, the mode of doing and the mode of becoming.
The mode of being. This is about being in the moment. About experiencing each moment to the fullest. In other words, it is about practicing mindfulness.
The mode of doing. This is about doing things that add to the moment to moment experience. This can have many forms, e.g. creating things that people can experience directly, improving society so that more people can be in the mode of being, etc.
The mode of becoming. This is about becoming better at the first two modes. Being able to experience each moment more deeply and contributing more to the experiences for other people.
And that’s all there is to it! I find this to be a pretty good stab at one of life’s big questions. If one committed their life to these three modes, I find it hard to see how it would not be a life well-lived.