mystery of life

Is life a gift or a curse? some claim that life is a gift from the creator to be enjoyed and lived fully and whose purpose is to find meaning. Others claim that life is a curse, a prison for the soul from which we are to liberate ourselves from, from this point of view the purpose of life is no longer a search for meaning but a struggle for the soul. Two contradictory truths with opposing implications of one single mystery, life. So where do you stand?