I have been reading this idea of having a purpose for my life. More outrageous, is the idea that I can discover my purpose. Like it is hidden somewhere and I can get it out. Well get ready for some existential damage.
So we do know that about 850 million people on the planet cannot read or write, 2.6 billion lack access to adequate sanitation, 1.8 million children die every year due to disease — you can get the UNDP report here, apparently they don’t want any part of it to be copied because they don’t want people to know about their findings? What a shame.. I wonder what their purpose is? – Anyway…. These are humans, not numbers, we got to get this. We don’t get that they are human, we really don’t.
So what is the life purpose of a mother who has one of these sick kids in her arms? Maybe we should give her a pen and a paper, some questions to answer (a grand methodology) and see if we can have this human discover her purpose in life. No? How about this one: Lets get a hold of a Palastinian who was born and raised in Gaza and give him a piece of paper and ask him to discover what his purpose is. No? Well how about we go see an Israeli who has worked or lived on the line over there and give him a piece of paper and ask him? Wow that could be the “clash of purposes.” No? Well how about we go to a chicken factory and ask one of those people who kills chickens for us and ask him. No? How about the garbage man? No? Here is a good one; we should go to the border by Mexico stop one of those Mexicans and give him a pen and paper and ask him.
I am guessing the built in purpose is only accessible to certain people who have achieved a level of humanness that most of us lack…
Purpose of human beings lives as a group is the same as the universe….as far as scientists know the universe is ever EXPANDING and so should we…..now individually we are tied in some way or another and regardless of what we do we are still connected…why do you think that is….I think we are like the universe..as the matter fact we are a part of that expanding universe…and are expanding in to each others world just like the starts and glaxies are expanding in to each others worlds…..
So the purpose of a suicide bomber is exactly that….suicide bombing….and the purpose of a dying child is exactly that…be a dying child, and the purpose of the mother is to stop her child from dying and once dead to feel that pain…..that is it…no more, nothing fancy no mystery, no questions or answers….as is…so infact in the grand scheme of things there is hardly an individual purpose that matters as “what it is”….but it matters that it is what it is….
BUT THIS IS HARD TO SWALLOW IF YOUR CHILD IS THE SUICIDE BOMBER……SOMEHOW GOD IMAY BE HERE IN THERE SOMEWHERE NO??
Ofcourse there is this version: chasing women
good point indeed.
The ‘meaning’ and ‘purpose’ of all life is to survive long enough to reproduce. Trying to do that kept most people busy full time until very recently. Survival has become such a snap for those of us born in a first-world that we needn’t concern ourselves much with it so we are left with ‘chasing women’ and trying to impress them and other men with our prowess at this pursuit. Some of us are fortunate enough to find activities that distract us a bit such as wondering about the above.
Finding one’s purpose in life is the most agonizing experience… but for some it is the most rewarding. I told my wife that I wish I didn’t feel so compelled to find my purpose, it would be so much easier to just live life without it. But without purpose, what have you?
Following the Buddhist teachings (very sintethically) you should not waste time, even asking yourself about these topics, because we are so fortunate as we appeared (took life) in this Universe>Planet>Human Being>Continent>Country>Town>Family and so on. So if YOU are so privileged and wish to not take birth in a lower realm e.g. Animals and/or in another Univers’s site, Country, Family,and so on..appreciate this and behave appropriately:do not ask yourself about Purpose. No meaning at all.
The universe is expanding because of entropy; ie All matter that can exist already does, and what does exist is moving to disorder. The universe expands to lose energy. If we follow the universe’s grand scheme we will be lonely particles at absolute zero.
In the mean time though, I do think we should expand our understandings and knowledge.