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What is the meaning of life? Is it the act of being alive, or is it the whirlwind of feelings that we experience daily? According to the Cambridge Dictionary, life means "the period between birth and death, or the experience or state of being alive." If we think about it, life, in general, is the act of feeling or experiencing moments. But to experience moments, we don't need to go far to have strong adventures and emotions. In a single day, we can feel all kinds of sensations that, theoretically, would only be generated through an adventure. The act of waking up each morning is already an adventure.

‘Life is a constant adventure!’ and according to Patti Smith, every decision, every dream, every act realized is a new experience. Many people seek adventure to feel specific emotions that are theoretically generated by venturing into something new or radical. But all the hormones such as adrenaline, dopamine, endorphins, and many others, generated during a sport or adventure, can also be felt and experienced daily without the need to do anything stronger to produce them. Each new day our bodies will react differently because every new day is different. In other words, in just twenty-four hours (a day) we can feel a whirlwind of sensations; we just need to be alive to feel it. The fact we never know what is waiting for us in the future makes the surprise factor an adventure in life. But is destiny part of the adventure of Life? It is important to know what the word ‘destiny’ means before answering this question.

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, destiny is “the particular state of a person or thing in the future, considered as resulting from earlier events.” When Patti Smith says that ‘Life is an adventure of our own design, intersected by fate and a series of lucky and unlucky accidents,’ we can say that she does not consider our choices to be part of our destiny, but rather something that will happen to everyone regardless of the choice they make. And that ‘lucky and unlucky accidents’ are part of these choices. 

Every life has its future predestined irrespective of its actions, and nothing will change that, but is that the truth? Is destiny invariable? The theory of destiny is the subject of several debates between scientists and religious people because, according to some of them, our destiny is created from our choices and not from something written, or predetermined to happen. Regardless of what happens during our lives, whether it's good or bad, we must know that the act of living and experiencing each new experience and feeling is part of our daily learning as human beings. We must take advantage of the gift of life and venture out on this human journey that is living. We are the masters of our own lives, and it's up to us to choose our next adventure.

"This text was written for an academic class during my studies at Sorbonne University, in April 2024."

References:

CAMBRIDGE DICTIONARY ONLINE, Life. Available at: [https://dictionary.cambridge.org/pt/dicionario/ingles/life ] Accessed: 28 April 2024.

CAMBRIDGE DICTIONARY ONLINE, Destiny. Available at: [https://dictionary.cambridge.org/pt/dicionario/ingles/destiny] Accessed: 28 April 2024