Anatomy of this Outfit: Coat – Forever21 | Sweater – Urban Outfitters | Hat – Urban Outfitters | Playsuit – Urban Outfitters | Tights – H&M


Recently, I wrote about finding some sort of purpose, security, and comfort with the current status of my life. And though it is entirely true that for the first time in a long time I feel a sense of satisfaction with my existence, I still question the actual purpose we as human being have on this earth.

We are at once a product of our animalistic elements and a product of our mind. And while we boast that what sets us apart from all other species is the ability to verbally and orally communicate complex thoughts and ideas as well as to reason and understand some basic universal sense of morality, it still begs the question “Why are we here?”

I often ask myself if for the most part we create tasks to fill our days and create meaning. To give us a sense of purpose and make us feel as if we are doing something of value, of meaning. To distract us from the fact that no one has a damned clue why we are here and what the whole point is and find myself in constant flux between relishing in what makes us unique, makes us human, and criticising it. Because although art and literature are manifestations of what make us incredible, when taken further, our love of comfort, beautiful things, and various forms of stimulation and satisfaction turns to excess and greed and makes the human being a very ugly creature to be around.

So where is that fine line between humanity and embarrassment? And if everything in excess turns ugly, how to we attempt to be all that we are if constantly reaching for the things that make us human can make us unworthy of the title?

I previously came to the conclusion that the real purpose of being on this earth was to try to work towards a world in which everyone can experience joy. But this calls up the previous push and pull I mentioned. Because at some point, if you are constantly fighting for the rights of others and feeling guilty for what you do have, you are helping others attain happiness but robbing yourself of this same joy in the process.

But tempered with the simple principle that everything in moderation is key (thanks Benji!) it’s possible to find a balance between helping others and helping yourself. Because life is meant to be enjoyed and self care is very important – it’s just that this enjoyment and self care should not take place on the backs of others but carried out through one’s own hard work if one has the means to do so. (And if you do have the means to do so, then it is, in part, your duty to help others that may struggle to be able to help themselves also enjoy simple pleasures that life has to offer.)

I am trying to imagine that, as with all things, the journey is more important than the destination (except if that journey is a plane ride and that destination is Iceland, because Iceland is really fucking awesome and I really want to go there). And with all journeys the excitement and fulfilment is the choice we have in how we travel. And it’s this choice that can create wonderful people or terrible monsters. But it’s the choice that makes us such marvellous creatures. And it’s each mini adventure we take on our journey and all the people we will meet along the way that we should be enjoying and appreciating. (Well, most people and most journeys – but even the shitty ones teach us something)

So although I am no closer to finding out the secret to life (and how could I be, when much smarter people than me have also failed to do so), I’m just working towards living one day at a time and making my choices meaningful and, well sometimes not so meaningful, because there’s always a little room for a bit of chaos and debauchery. And maybe that is the point – that there is no answer, but the exploration of our own choices and the enjoyment of taking chances, making mistakes, getting messy, learning from it all, sometimes doing it right, and then doing it all over again.

Photography: Sandro Moscogiuri
Editing: Rae Tashman


Don’t forget to check out the podcasts & sign up for LFB’s conscious living challenge.



Stay conscious, Rae

Follow

Rae Tilly

Rae the EIC of LFB and YEOJA Magazine. She is also a photographer and social media influencer.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

  • I love your leopard coat

    xo

    http://www.laurajaneatelier.com

  • i can confirm that iceland itself is more exiting than the plane ride there, haha. and i really enjoyed this post. i had a conversation with a friend on saturday night that touched on the whole “why are we here?” thing and to be honest i don’t think there really is a point to human existence as a whole, or to each individual person’s existence, but why should that mean that we won’t try our hardest to learn and grow and experience as much as we possibly can while still keeping our harming of others to a minimum? some people ask that question and answer “what’s the point of doing anything?” and my answer is “what’s the point in not doing anything?” we don’t have to have some big meaning driving out existence but we can create meaning in the small things because if we don’t we’ll feel empty and i just think you’ll have a better time trying than not trying.

    jessica – littlehenrylee.com

  • I do think that life is meaningless and that all the freedom and joy of life is found in that fact, because it allows us to create our own meaning. Sometimes, I look around and think, “We get to fill our days with whatever we want, and this is what we choose?” especially in countries where consumerism is a major tenet of the culture. But other times I look at all that we’ve created, all that we’re capable of creating, and the people who do choose to embody the better sides to human nature, and I think it’s an extraordinary, exciting thing to be human.

    I love this line of yours, “it’s just that this enjoyment and self care should not take place on the backs of others but carried out through one’s own hard work if one has the means to do so” and I think it’s the key point to everything. We can’t be completely self-serving, and there’s lots of new research about how our ability to collaborate, our kindness, is what makes humans succeed as a species.

    P.S Tim Minchin has a great speech about enjoying our one meaningless life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoEezZD71sc

  • I loved this Rae, I agree so much, we can’t just be self serving and to spread a little joy while creating our own is the magical thing about being human, we can make someones day just as magical as our own with the simple things. We don’t need to break our backs over our happiness or anyone else’s.

    I think the secret to the meaning of life is that there is no secret, as children we’re promised so much, then we get to that point and it’s not how it was supposed to be, it’s not how we’d built it up in our minds.

  • This really resonated with me! It’s such a deep topic but you have expressed yourself in such an beautiful way. On a lighter note, I love that coat!x

  • This was beautifully written, Rae. I think you’ve hit the nail on the head at the end though – there is no answer. We’re all just doing the best we can with what we’ve got. And anyone who tells you that they’ve got it all figured out is lying.

    Last summer, I remember a dear friend to me said “You know, everyone feels lonely sometimes.” And I don’t know why – but that really hit close to home for me. Because we’re all just kind of doing our own thing, wading through, trying to figure out what we’re supposed to be doing when really there is no right answer. Ups and downs are inherent and unavoidable. There’s that cliche saying that says “it’s the journey and not the destination”, but I really believe it to be true.

    in the meantime, I’d love to join you in Iceland. ;)

    xx Kathryn
    http://www.throughthethicket.ca

  • The Fashion Panda
  • Sonia Verardo

    I love your look!

    Great post!

    xo from Italy,

    Sonia Verardo

    http://www.trenchcollection.com/

  • Ines de Castro

    I’ve just found your blog and I think it’s really inspiring, it will be an honor for me if you can visit mine too, and if you want to follow, it will be a pleasure to follow you back! :) <3

    Fashion gets Fierce.

  • Vintage Alley Shop

    Such a well-written blog post, especially paragraph 3 where you talk about how we tend to create tasks to keep us busy and give purpose to life. I found that as I’m getting older (well, I’m only 27 lol) I try to just focus on the things that truly matter and bring me happiness, then base my life and hobbies around that. It has helped give me some guidance and keeps my focused on my goals. Awesome post! :)

  • Lucy Mitchell

    I love the leopard print jacket and your hair is amazing!

    http://www.sunsetdesires.blogspot.co.uk

  • This is such a lovely post, you write beautifully and very honestly. Additionally, your coat is fantastic!

    Tessa at Bramble & Thorn

  • This post has made me think back to all sorts of existential readings, a lot of Jean-Paul Sartre who particularly seemed interested in our daily existence and how we create meaning for ourselves, how we are solely responsible for our own experience in life. Worth a read if you’re still pondering this (and if you haven’t read them already!)

  • Vaida Tamošauskaitė

    great post! and that fur coat just perfect :) love this outfit of yours – suits you so well!
    Vaida @ http://www.donttellanyone.net/blog