The Meaning of Life According to Jim Carrey

“I don’t want to be presumptuous... but the meaning of life... want to know what it is? Love yourself. That’s it, love yourself. That’s what I think it is... and, be visible, no matter what the risk... be honest.”

— Jim Carrey

The meaning of life is a question that pulsates with either conscious or unconscious purpose within every single one of us.

We cannot help but be captivated at some intrinsic level, because we suffer in the body, we experience losses, and many experiences of life are unjust. We all want to be inherently satisfied with life. We all want life to be personally meaningful.

Love Yourself (In Context)

It was reprehensible when I was young to ‘love myself’, as if doing so were an egoistic love. Loving ourselves, as Carrey puts it, is nothing about ego; it’s about coming to a humble acceptance of ourselves, and to see ourselves as God sees us. Rejecting ourselves is also about the ego; the ego that cannot stand to be thought of as being despicably ‘vain’ enough to love ourselves.

To love ourselves as Christ loves us – and gave himself for us on the cross – is nothing close to a vain love. ‘Love myself’ also means, ‘believe in myself’, ‘see myself in the light of truth’, and ‘respond to life in self-respecting ways’.

Be Visible – Approach and Live Courageously

Shrinking is a practice many of us have involved ourselves in. Whether it’s a fear to be described or whether it’s an anxious fear, doesn’t matter, because if we hide ourselves away, in any way, we face the non-existence of ourselves. This is a lie. We exist. By God’s power, creation, and grace we exist; we belong here; nobody is any more important than we, ourselves, are.

We are blessed to accept our presence. Such a state of being abides in the truth.

Be Honest

Truth is crucial to the whole of life. Being honest, we have the reason to love ourselves. Being courageous, we have the power to love ourselves.

When we are honest we are also courageous. And courage requires honesty.

To be honest is to have integrity – our inside lines up with our outside. We are integral. We do not lie to ourselves and our integrity is further reinforced in the safe knowledge of truth.

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Love Jesus Christ and he will show you how to love yourself. Then you will have the right basis for loving others. Not only that, but we find that, in this twisted wreckage of existence we call life there is a new way that gives us meaning beyond life itself.

© 2014 S. J. Wickham.