Ignite Baltimore #3 015 - Plato Hieronimus - What's the meaning of life...

Ignite Baltimore #3
http://www.ignitebaltimore.com

June 24th 2009

Plato Hieronimus
What's the meaning of life...
http://ignitebaltimore.com/speakers/59

Since the dawn of our species, we have longed to know why were here on this planet. Over millennia, weve climbed mountains, hurled ourselves up into space, scanned the stars, written literature, experimented with light, microorganisms, and economic theory, invented religions and entire schools of thought in a vain attempt to definitively answer this greatest of all questions: what is the meaning of life? Well Im here to tell you what I think it is: Its not complex. Its not arcane or mysterious or ingenious. Its not something you need a priest or a nobel laureate to walk you through. Its not written in sanskrit or in a complex calculus. Its not a mental concept or notion at all. No its simple and physical, it is real and literal. Literally literal. The meaning of life is......life. Life does one thing more than anything else, it tries to spread itself, to propagate so that it grows. This is its singular purpose. As humans we want to separate ourselves out and make ourselves seem unique and special. We construct a virtual world for ourselves, a labyrinth composed of intellect and we wander around in it wondering why were lost. Life is simple. Life is plain. Life begets life. Life craves life. Life wants more of itself. And like it or not, we're part of it. The intensity of our longing to know the meaning of life is a derivative of our greater longing to grow, to prosper, to endure, to survive. This is why were so fascinated by, so compelled by sex and death. This is why youth is a virtue and old age a curse. We are compelled to have children because we see ourselves decaying and we throw up a prayer in them, throw it up into the gusting winds of time and space hoping that some piece of our life will live beyond us in them and in that way we will be immortal. The meaning of life is life. Lets start living it.

About Plato Hieronimus:
Plato grew up on a commune in Baltimore. This upbringing instilled in him the idea that building community is the most important work of all. Attending Friends School, Plato learned to love learning within a community of ambitious yet kind classmates. In college, at The University of Pennsylvania, Plato developed the strong writing and communication skills critical for driving business success. Later, Plato rounded out his education with an MBA in marketing from The Ohio State University's Fisher College of Business. After working at a variety of communications and entertainment industry companies across the country, Plato returned to Baltimore and launched a strategic marketing firm, The Selling Well. Plato is proud to serve on the Advisory Board of CASA Baltimore and he enjoys swimming, writing fiction, great conversations, and T'ai Chi.

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