I completely agree with this video:
This metaphor reflects some existential realities of being alive on this planet. What is the point of life? What are we supposed to do? While I don’t claim to definitively answer these questions—perhaps no one can—here’s a perspective I’ve developed that might provide a reasonably satisfying response.
Consider this: the point of life is to experience life.
What if it’s that simple?
We come to this planet to fall in love, swim in the ocean, feel the sunlight, and experience friendship. To understand betrayal, know the thrill of adventure, savor the glory of triumph, and bask in the joys of contentment. We feel the pangs of grief, the brilliant intensity of midday, the gentle warmth of dusk. We feel both very, very big and very, very small—sometimes all at once.
In short, we incarnate in life to experience life. That’s the point.
In this way, I liken life to Disneyland. The point of Disneyland is to go on the rides. You go to Disneyland to experience Disneyland.
You can’t win or lose at Disneyland.
You can’t beat or fail Disneyland.
You can’t do Disneyland right or wrong.
If you want to go on the teacups 50 times because, by God, that’s your favorite ride—you didn’t do Disneyland badly.
By the same token, if you want to ride every single ride in the park, you don’t get a gold star. You didn’t do Disneyland “well.” In both cases, you did what you wanted, and you had your experience.
Life is like being in the park, which offers a multiplicity of potential experiences. We can ride the thrilling rides or the gentle rides. We can even spend the whole time just watching others enjoy the rides. Each experience is different, but on some level, they are all equally existentially full. They all make up one day at Disneyland.
That’s it.
At the end of the day, we go home.
There’s no way to do it right.
There’s no way to do it wrong.
There’s no way to win.
There’s no way to lose.
Life is just a theme park of experiences, and when evening comes, maybe we can leave with some good memories.
I've read various philosophical works, and the one which convinced me most is Epicureanism. So I want my time here to be a good time 😏
The goal of life under Epicureanism is the pursuit of pleasure, so it can be considered a branch of hedonism, but with a twist:
It's the long-term, sustainable pursuit of pleasure. Which means it recommends against shooting heroin, having unprotected sex (which feels better), eating unhealthy sweet stuff, etc. Because while it's more pleasurable in the now, it causes pain in the long run. So Epicureanism instructs to seek pleasures which are safe and sustainable.
Under Epicureanism, pleasure is defined as the absence of pain and anxiety. So in order to enjoy life, it is more important to avoid sources of pain, than it is to seek specific things to proactively enjoy. A good life is an easy life (but you probably weren't born into one, so first you need to achieve it).
Being the observant guy that I am, I noticed there are certain things a lot of people do which produce more suffering than pleasure. I choose to abstain from those things, and I feel strongly about this choice.