It has been nearly eight decades since I first opened my eyes. I remember nothing of that moment, but I imagine the world was blurry, filled with mysterious sounds. In the years that followed, countless experiences shaped my life through hardship, peace, struggle, and moments that seemed beyond time. Yet life remains an unfolding story.

Looking back, one realization stands above the rest: every reflection on life begins with the truth that no one chooses to exist. From that unchosen beginning arise questions that have occupied philosophers, scientists, and ordinary people. What does it mean to exist? How should one understand consciousness, meaning, and mortality? These reflections move from personal experience to the broader human condition.

Human life begins with an event over which the individual has no influence: the transition from nonexistence to existence. No person chooses to be born, nor do they choose the circumstances of their birth, their genetic inheritance, the historical era into which they are born, or the environment that shapes their development. Human existence is therefore fundamentally unchosen, yet it is the condition that makes all experience possible. Without it, there would be no awareness, curiosity, suffering, joy, relationships, or the ability to question reality itself.

This gives rise to a fundamental tension. Consciousness allows human beings to experience the depth of life while also making them aware of its limits and of its inevitable end. A related tension emerges from the fact that the universe does not appear to offer inherent meaning, but it has produced beings capable of questioning existence and creating purpose within it. Human consciousness faces a reality that may be indifferent to meaning while generating within itself a profound need for it.

Existence is a constant process of adapting to changing conditions. In this process, happiness and fulfillment........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)