There is no meaning. You’re looking the wrong way.

Think of a bowl filled with water. You’re a fish, swimming around in that bowl. When you were just a little fish, you had to learn how to swim. But as you grew up, swimming became natural for you. However, no matter how good you get at swimming, you’re still stuck inside the bowl. You can’t see outside of it, and you can’t feel anything beyond its glass walls. Everywhere you swim, you bump into the edges of the bowl.

Every now and then, someone changes the water in your bowl, making it feel fresh again. But even with the new water, you’re still swimming in the same old bowl, facing the same limits. You might look up and see the opening at the top, but you have no idea how to fly out of there. And even if you could, what’s waiting outside? Nothing but emptiness, no water, no life. It’s a sad thought because you’re a fish and flying is just not something you can do.

One day, your bowl gets moved to a room full of other bowls, each with its own fish. You watch the other fish and realize they feel the same way you do — stuck and wondering what it’s all for. The only time things feel fresh is when the water gets changed. It’s like life has no meaning beyond swimming.

But then, something clicks. Every single day, you do one thing without fail: you swim. And the more you do it, the better you get. You can swim fast or slow, forward or backward. You can even do cool tricks like flips. That’s when you realize that swimming isn’t just something you do because you have to — it’s what you’re really good at. It’s your purpose.

So, even though you’re just a fish in a bowl, your purpose is clear: to swim. And you do it so well that it gives your life meaning, even in a small bowl.