Meaning of “know life for what it is” [closed]

Question

What does know life for what it is mean? Maybe it means something like know what life is really like?

Always to look life in the face and to know it for what it is.

That's exactly what it means. To know what it truly is, rather than how it appears or how others think of it.
I see someone else thinks this is "General Reference". Personally, I think it's an off-topic invitation to start a discussion on a philosophical issue.
@FumbleFingers, the question is not a philosophical inquiry, merely a question about the meaning of an English sentence. As apparent in comments to duplicate I linked to (which ought to be reopened and given a simple answer) OP didn't understand what it is as the complement of preposition for.
@jwpat7: OP's grasp of basic English seems quite limited, and I don't think ELU should be used as a beginner's introduction to ESL unless the specific point raised involve something interesting about usage. And given Pitarou's first comment here should have enlightened OP anyway, I also don't see why he re-asked about "for what", or why you suggested closing this as a duplicate of that second question. We're all entitled to our own opinions, of course, but mine is that neither of these questions should be here.

awe · Accepted Answer · 2012-03-08 10:00:38Z

up vote 3 down vote accepted

Face the reality of life, and don't think it's easy to live. Life is cruel, you just have to live with it...

You should not think you get anything for free in life. If you do, it's a bonus - never expect it.

answered Mar 8 '12 at 10:00

awe
1,056416

closed as off topic by Will Hunting, FumbleFingers, Daniel δ, Mitch, jwpat7 Mar 9 '12 at 14:32