Making money is for the purpose of living, but life is not for the purpose of making money. So, what is life for? By observing, one can discover that people live in relationships, and most people live for some kind of relationship.
Relationships can be divided into strong (narrow) relationships and weak (broad) relationships. For example, blood relations and romantic relationships belong to strong (narrow) relationships, while the relationship between a writer or celebrity and their fans belongs to weak (broad) relationships. The meanings of these two types of relationships can generally be understood from their literal meanings.
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Generally speaking, happiness is determined by strong (narrow) relationships, while success is determined by weak (broad) relationships. However, this is not absolute, because this is from a secular perspective, and happiness is subjective. For example, the genius philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, who had a poor strong (narrow) relationship, said on his deathbed, "Tell them I had a wonderful (happy) life."
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Strong (narrow) relationships have a significant impact and meaning for individuals, while weak (broad) relationships are more suitable for influencing and changing the world. The worldview of the protagonist in the animated film "Weathering with You," who says "As long as we can fall in love, it doesn't matter even if there are floods," prioritizes strong (narrow) relationships over weak (broad) relationships. Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) abandoned his throne and left home to practice and enlighten sentient beings, prioritizing weak (broad) relationships over strong (narrow) relationships. Both strong (narrow) relationships and weak (broad) relationships are part of a person, and different choices reflect different values.
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Blood and genes are passed down through strong (narrow) relationships, while culture and spirituality mainly rely on weak (broad) relationships for inheritance. Human civilization has reached its current state through these two aspects, which are like a person's left and right legs, both of which are indispensable.
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The number of strong (narrow) relationships a person can have is limited because their energy and the number of close friends and family members are limited. On the other hand, the number of weak (broad) relationships theoretically can continue to grow until the total population of the Earth, as these relationships can be one-sided and not limited by time and space. For example, the relationship between Lu Xun, a writer in the Republic of China, and contemporary literary youth who admire him, or the relationship between Michael Jackson and his international fans who idolize him.
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For most people, strong (narrow) relationships are more important than weak (broad) relationships, but often the ones that can hurt you the most are also strong (narrow) relationships.
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If a person does not have satisfying strong (narrow) relationships, it is also okay. They can develop weak (broad) relationships and break free from the limitations of small love, which may lead to the emergence of great love. If a person cares about their reputation and the opinions of people who are not closely related to them, it indicates that they value weak (broad) relationships. It shows that even those people whose names are unknown hold a place in their hearts, and the seed of great love is buried deep within them.
People make money, pursue success, power, status, reputation, recognition, and respect from others, ultimately for some kind of relationship. However, people often get lost on the path to their goals and forget or do not know what they initially wanted.
Franz Kafka once said that he stood in line on the street, not to buy anything, but to blend into the crowd and make the coldness in his heart a little less, which is a desire for relationships. Tao Yuanming resigned from his official position and secluded himself, which is an escape from relationships. Entering the world is entering relationships, while leaving the world is exiting relationships. "Being poor and focusing on self-improvement" is the latter, while "achieving success and benefiting the world" is the former.
There are many forces that trap people in relationships, and there are also many forces that compel people to escape from relationships. People both long for and fear relationships. Longing is the joy that relationships bring, while fear is the pain that relationships can bring.
Albert Einstein said, "No need for deep thinking, just by observing daily life, one can understand: people live for others - first for those people whose joy and well-being are closely related to our own happiness, and then for many people we do not know, whose fate is closely linked to ours through the bond of sympathy." This speaks to the positive value of relationships. Jean-Paul Sartre said, "Hell is other people," which speaks to the negative value of relationships.
The desire for relationships is ingrained in our genes, as can be understood by observing the reaction of a baby when they are separated from their mother's embrace. However, different growth environments and experiences, ways of perceiving and understanding the world, and subsequent behavioral differences and variations, lead some people to seek happiness in relationships while others see "hell" in relationships.
People seek warmth, solace, and hope in relationships, but they also struggle and endure pain in relationships. As Krishnamurti said, "He (referring to humans) needs the mirror of relationships to find truth by understanding the contents of his own mind, through observation rather than intellectual analysis or introspective analysis."
Ultimately, people will all die, but they can continue a part of themselves through establishing relationships, such as through procreation (strong/narrow relationships) or passing down knowledge through writing and teaching (weak/broad relationships). If humanity were to become extinct tomorrow, would everything done today still have meaning? By continuing through genes and spirituality, the pursuit and answers to the meaning of life are postponed. If human civilization can be passed down from generation to generation, even if individuals die, a part of them may continue through relationships. In this continuous inheritance, does the person's life have some kind of meaning?
If there were no relationships, would life still be worth living? Would life still have meaning? If you were given a choice, one option being our current life and the other being stripped of all relationships, such as living alone on a planet with only yourself, which life would you choose? If Newton or Cao Xueqin were placed alone on a planet, would they still study science or create novels? Would it still have meaning?
Taking a step back, can it be said that the existence of relationships provides broader and deeper possibilities for the meaning of life? If one were to seek the meaning of life, perhaps it can only be approached through relationships, otherwise, one may inevitably head towards nihilism.