Day 64 - The answer is.....

......42. Well, according to Douglas Adams's seminal work The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy it is. The problem then switches to one of finding the question that fits this answer! Another of Adams's quotes from the same work goes further and implies that humans are, in fact, missing the point of life somewhat:

"On the planet Earth, man had always assumed he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much - the wheel, New York, wars and so on - whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed they were more intelligent then man - for precisely the same reasons."

Does Adams have a point here? Have the dolphins, in fact, got this whole existence thing spot on? Life is so staggeringly complex, impossible to work out and completely beyond normal levels of comprehension that it might simply be a better approach to not get too caught up with the why's and wherefores and simply make sure we live our lives to the fullest with the cards we are dealt.

Life has been around way before any of us, and will be around long afterwards too. It doesn't really care whether we understand it and frankly we would probably only find an answer devoid of context anyway. Every time I get close to understanding my life something comes by and blindsides me so applying that to the whole of existence seems and coming out on top seems unlikely.

I do feel that sometimes we worry too much and can tie ourselves in knots trying to understand why things happen the way they do. In fact I have it on good authority that this is one of my abundant character flaws! It can be difficult for sure, but is the best approach actually too just accept the fact that the answer IS 42, the question is unknown and you might as well enjoy the ride?

It is often said that the journey is more important than the destination, and nowhere is this truer than life itself. I know it is our human nature which pushes us to question, explore and understand - and striving for knowledge in itself is no bad thing (something I always encourage Katie to try and do). But maybe there is a line to be drawn, a point beyond which it is not worth pushing for fear of growing insanity taking over.

We often spend so long looking for answers that we often either forget the question we asked or, more likely, would have no idea what to do with the answer if we found it, In that respect, may mucking around in the water having a good time is precisely what we should be doing. Well played dolphins, well played indeed.

Till later, Tom

ps- I know I'm back behind again. I'm getting there!