"In contrast with what I had seen in our circle, where the
whole of life is passed in idleness, amusement, and dissatisfaction, I saw that
the whole life of these people was passed in heavy labour, and that they were
content with life. In contradistinction to the way in which people of our
circle oppose fate and complain of it on account of deprivations and
sufferings, these people accepted illness and sorrow without any perplexity or
opposition, and with a quiet and firm conviction that all is good. In
contradistinction to us, who the wiser we are the less we understand the
meaning of life, and see some evil irony in the fact that we suffer and die,
these folk live and suffer, and they approach death and suffering with
tranquility and in most cases gladly…
In complete contrast to my ignorance, [they] knew the
meaning of life and death, labored quietly, endured deprivations and
sufferings, and lived and died seeing therein not vanity but good…
I understood that if I wish to understand life and its
meaning, I must not live the life of a parasite, but must live a real life, and
— taking the meaning given to live by real humanity and merging myself in that
life — verify it."
More here:
Leo Tolstoy on Finding Meaning in a MeaninglessWorld
