What is the meaning of life?
And why do we all, eventually, die?
These may not always be the exact questions on your lips or at the forefront of your mind. But they’re certainly something you feel a deep desire to learn and understand more about.
When you’re a naturally philosophical person, you’re constantly searching for more to life than what meets the eye.
Always wondering what really lies deep beneath the surface and what more there is to learn about the world around you.
Are you a naturally philosophical person? Let’s explore these 9 characteristics of people who constantly ponder the meaning of life and death.
1) Thinking deeply about movies, stories, or TV shows
Do you read something in the news and it plays on your mind? Watch a movie and spend the rest of the night thinking about it?
Or finish a book and spend the next few weeks mulling over what it all meant and everything that was said?
For you, everything has meaning. No movie, TV show, or book is something to be left unanalyzed.
Because every story you encounter is a story that relates to life, existence, and – ultimately – death, at the end of it all.
Whenever you watch something, you find yourself deeply evaluating it and asking “Why?” afterward.
Why did you come across such a story?
Why did such a thing happen to the people it happened to?
And what does it all mean for your own existence?
2) Engaging in deep chats that open the soul
When you’re someone who constantly ponders the meaning of life and death, there’s nothing you love more than to talk about deep topics.
Your friends know you as the person they can have a deep chat with if they need to.
Sometimes, they might tell you the questions you ask are “morbid” or the things you think about are “too deep for them”.
Because not everyone is like you. And for you, a conversation is barely worth having if it doesn’t open the soul and peer at what’s underneath.
3) Feeling an urge to question everything
When you have a deep soul, you feel an urge to question everything about the world around you.
Because life isn’t just something we live through and die through (or is it?).
It’s something that has greater meaning – and all you want to do is understand why everything happens the way it happens and what it all means.
When you’re a person who’s desperate to understand the meaning of life, your questioning doesn’t just focus on the meaning of life and death.
Like why do we find beauty in the way the trees rustle above our heads?
And where did language come from? And why do we all try so hard to understand each other – and get offended when someone doesn’t understand us?
No moment, happening, or life event goes unquestioned by you – because you want to learn, know, and understand life to feel connected to it.
4) Finding comfort in existential quotes
When you’re a person who forever questions the meaning of life, you’ll find great comfort in existential quotes.
On social media, you may follow various quote accounts to fill your feed. On your camera roll, you have tons of screenshots of quotes that spark deep thoughts in you.
I have a friend who spends most of her free time reading about the meaning of life.
She showed me her Instagram feed once and it was full of quotes, colors, artwork, and nature pictures that make her feel a deep connection to life and death.
When she posts on her story, she’s more than likely publishing something deep and existential that she wants to share with the world.
Her most recent post was this:
“At the end of time I want my art to stand up and my soul to bow down.”
― Rob Ryser, Great Desires for Absent Things
Does that resonate with you? If so, you might be just like my friend – constantly searching for the meaning of life and how to live your truth.
5) Feeling high empathy for others
People who constantly ponder the meaning of life and death undoubtedly have a high emotional intelligence.
Everything about life causes them to think and feel something.
News stories of someone passing affect them deeply and they feel the pain of others like it’s happening to them.
My friend who I mentioned loves an existential quote? She cried when I told her that my Grandma confided her long list of life regrets with me just days before she passed.
She felt a deep empathy for my Grandma, despite never knowing her, and felt saddened that her life was a mix of chaos, sadness, and small moments of joy.
I distinctly remember her asking me what I thought it meant for our lives – that my Granny was so full of regret in her final days.
And whether we were all destined to be full of regret no matter what we did in our younger years.
Her empathy for others and her constant wondering about the meaning of life (not just my Grandma’s) was a clear sign of her philosophical personality.
6) Journaling regularly
Journaling is a task highly recommended by most therapists and life coaches.
As many people have studied, journaling regularly deepens self-discovery.
It’s why it’s often a habit adopted by people who question their purpose in life.
There’s nothing they love more than understanding their behavior and the actions of those around them.
If they said something to a friend that they later regret, they want to write about it.
They want to understand where the thought came from, why it makes them feel bad, and what they can learn from the experience to lessen the pain in the future.
Why? Usually for one main reason.
Because they think there’s meaning to be found in every interaction and they want nothing more than to find what that is.
7) Being 100% true to yourself
Authenticity is important to people who ponder the meaning of life.
Because they live their life questioning the right way to live, they know nothing is more important than staying true to themselves.
Rarely will they ever say something they don’t mean or act in a way that feels unaligned to who they are.
Oftentimes, this can lead them to feel disconnected and out of sync with the rest of the world.
But really, it’s just because they feel such a zest for life and think deeply about everything (which isn’t something most people shout about) that they feel this way.
And there’s nothing unusual or abnormal about their true selves at all.
8) Choosing to spend time outdoors rather than inside
Even though it may not always seem that way, human beings are a part of nature.
So it’s no surprise that countless studies have found health benefits from spending time outdoors.
According to experts, just two hours per week in nature can boost your immune system and overall mood, help you sleep better, and reduce your stress levels.
When you live a life of contemplation, nothing makes you feel more relaxed and at peace than spending time among the trees.
Being at the beach, strolling along a forest path, or hiking a mountain is your idea of fun and relaxation.
Because for you, being in nature makes you feel connected to the Earth, Mother Nature, and everything else in between.
And it feels like it might even be your divine purpose in life.
9) Enjoying being alone (and choosing it over time with others)
When you’re a sensitive soul, you find comfort in your own company.
For you, being alone is enjoyable and even necessary for your daily functioning.
If you didn’t have any alone time from week to week, month to month, you’d barely be able to cope with it.
Because even though you enjoy the company of others, your alone time is important to you.
It’s time for you to reflect, discover, and ponder life’s biggest questions.
And because you enjoy your alone time so much, you may even find yourself choosing to attend certain events alone, rather than with others.
Like the cinema, the gym, a yoga class, an art gallery, or even a walk.
Final thoughts
Being philosophical can make you feel a little different from everyone else sometimes.
But, more often than not, you just need to find your “people” to feel part of something again.
My brother has always been a bit of an inward thinker. And throughout his school life, he struggled to make friends or find people he truly connected with.
It wasn’t until he went to college and joined a bunch of classes that he found “his people”.
So if you feel a little disconnected from the rest of society because of your deep-thinking nature, don’t let it get to you too much.
Sometimes, you just need to branch out of your comfort zone and find those who share your passions.
After all, aren’t love and friendships the sole meaning of life? (Or are they?)