The meaning of life

After watching The Hitchhiker's Guide to Galaxy, I have been thinking about the meaing of life a lot. What is the meaning of life?
If you ask a three years old, the meaning of life can be simple or complicated. You may simply feel that the toy today is particularly colorful and noisy, but it can be as tricky as making a phone call to your parents while they are working behind your nanny's back using your toy mobile.
That first day when you set foot in the kindergarden can leave a life long impression as well. The meaning of life on that day may be the ability to find a seat among the strangest crowd of children you will ever see, but soon afterwards you are no longer strangers. You are singing and eating together as if you've known them all your life.
The meaning of life changes as you grow older. You want to fit in, but your hair looks weird and you can't afford to buy the clothes your classmates wear. If you can afford to buy the clothes your friends wear, you will want to buy the X-Box games they have. If you can afford to buy the games, you will want to go skiing. The list goes on. When you are just like your friends, you want to be different. You must be crazy. The meaning of life is ever changing as the media bombards you with ideas, but do you really know the meaning of life? No. You are just going with the flow as day goes by. Do you really need that pair of pants? Do you really need that nail polish? No. Can you do without a boyfriend who sits and do nothing whole day? Can you do without a girlfriend who swipes your credit card as if it is hers? Yes. However, the meaning of life comes and goes right in front of you everyday. You build it up and destroy it the next second. It is right in front of you, but you are too busy changing to notice it.
You make a decision when you finish high school. You may just find a job and join the big wild world. You may go to college or university. However, the quest to find the meaning of life is never ending. Is it about tax deduction? Is it about upholding justice? Is it about curing cancer? Who knows. You just want to learn some knowledge and get away from your parents for a while.
You are still unsure about the meaning of life when you graduate from university. That uncertain increases when you try to find your dream job. Fill in the blanks: name, address, phone number, age, qualification, interest, references. They just want to know what you can do, but they are not interested about who you are. You sweat over the interview. You get the job. You work hard. You have the ambition to do even better than yesterday, and you get promoted. You want to do even more so you quit and find another job.
At this point in life, you may already found your soulmate. You learn that the meaning of life is all about sharing your life with someone else. This is never easy, but it does have its good points. You laugh together. You cry together. You talk to each other when you have nothing to do. You sit together to watch television. You go to the movies together. You drive together. You swim together. You sing together. It's that togetherness that matters.
The meaning of life comes full circle when your first kid comes into the world. Taking the first step. Speaking the first word. You find the meaning of living in your children even though they are the tyke of the world. They are loud and unruly, but they are your kids. They are quiet and cute. They are your kids.
One day you discover that your hair is turning gray. You children are leaving home. They are finding a job. They have their own family. You are afraid that winter will come, but your grandchildren just want to ski the slope. You knit your own sweater when they read stories to you. Sometimes, you sit and reflect your life. You are still finding the meaning of life everywhere. It is in the sound of music you are listening. It is in the films you are watching. It is in the meal that you are enjoying. It is in hot lemon tea in the winter afternoon. It is in the petal of flowers, and the drop of rain. It is on your shoulder, it is in the wind, it is in the cloud, and it is in the ray of sun. It is in the beautiful life that you have lived, you just haven't noticed it.