Why and How Do We Live?
Is this topic a philosophical question? A medical question? Or is the question important at all? Can the “why” and “how” even be answered together?
I am not a philosopher, biologist, or theologian. But I am a human, just like you, assuming you are not simply a chatbot. And like most humans, I have thought about these questions at least once in my life.
Some people find answers in religion, some in science, and others do not care much about the question at all. But what is right? What is the best way to approach these questions? Should we search for answers through research? Should we believe in a god? Or should we simply enjoy life without questioning it?
I think everyone has to answer that for themselves. There is no universal master plan that fits everyone. But in my opinion, all of these perspectives contain something important.
Religion, science, and enjoyment all share one thing in common: they involve people. Humans living together, talking together, and building communities together. Whether it is a church community, a scientific conference, or simply an evening spent with friends, we enjoy spending time doing what we love, but even more importantly, with people we like and who share our interests.
So back to the question: how do we live?
I was born in 1999 in a small village. Smartphones did not exist the way they do today, and computers were used very differently. Some of my neighbors did not even have internet access. I grew up in an environment where I knew the people living around me, relatives, neighbors, familiar faces. We shared the same supermarkets, the same weather, the same streets, and somehow the same life.
I could not really answer the question of why we live there, but how to live felt clear. The future also seemed predictable. Of course, life did not turn out exactly as expected.
Later, we moved to a bigger city into an apartment building. Most of my neighbors were pensioners. We had contact with them, and I liked them a lot, but it was not nearly the same as in the village. The question of how to live became less obvious. Things no longer felt so clear, but at the same time, new opportunities opened up.
When I started studying, I moved into student housing with a strong community spirit. There was a small student pub, shared study rooms, associations, and social groups. For the first time in a while, I again felt part of a deeply connected community.
Life felt better.
The questions of why and how to live no longer mattered so much — and yet, somehow, they mattered even more. We supported each other, organized events for fun, and helped one another. That was the “how” of living. And maybe also the “why.” We were told that by learning and growing, we could improve the world and make life better for everyone, including ourselves.
Then COVID came.
The meetings, the communities, and the social life still existed, but they changed. Everything became more focused on survival and organization. Many things started to feel like obligations rather than joy.
At the beginning of the pandemic, there was hope that things would improve afterward, that people would respect each other more, support local businesses more, and live with less stress thanks to rapidly developing online tools.
But social media also evolved rapidly during that time.
TikTok became massively popular. Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, endless Netflix consumption, all of it exploded.
Religion, science, and enjoyment all involve people coming together. TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts often involve the opposite: one person alone consuming endless streams of content, much of it poorly researched, meaningless, or AI-generated.
I am not against technology or short-form content itself. What worries me is the loss of communities, the loss of quiet moments, and the loss of time to think about questions like: Why and how do we live?
Today, the question of how we live seems simple to answer. We work, take care of our households, maybe exercise, meet friends, and enjoy good food and company. Yes, we are alive and we are living.
But every free minute increasingly gets filled by staring alone at a screen roughly the size of our hand. Our minds are no longer fully present in reality, they are online. In those moments, our attention gets consumed by AI-generated nonsense, propaganda, funny cat videos, and endless distractions.
And for how long? Ten minutes a day? Half an hour? Several hours?
Maybe in the past we were not always more productive during that time, but we used our minds differently. We talked to people, met friends, got bored, thought deeply, and simply lived life.
How? In reality.
Why? Because it felt meaningful and fun.
Throughout history, community and living together have always been among the most important parts of human life, besides survival itself. I believe life is not only about surviving, it is about being together, using our minds, and creating something meaningful.
This website is a reflection of that belief. I want to share ideas, thoughts, and enjoyment. Some people may think a personal website is unnecessary or meaningless. Others may find value in it. But either way, I believe it is no less meaningful than spending hours every day watching endless AI-generated content and short videos.
My life has become international. My friends live all over the world, and without the internet I could not stay connected to them. Because of that, I also believe that community today does not necessarily mean living in a small village or meeting at church every week. Community can also exist online. Social media and the internet can connect people across countries and cultures in beautiful ways.
We are humans. We can build communities, freedom, and meaningful lives together.
So, to answer the question:
How do we live? Together.
And why do we live? Because it is fun.
