A question that each of us asks at different points in our lives is: What is my purpose? Why am I here? What difference do I make in the overall scheme of things?
A lot of parents have told me they believe that their purpose is to provide for their children, nurture their growth, protect them from harm and to serve as a continued resource. But what if through a tragic circumstance your children died long before you did. Would that mean you no longer have purpose?
Other people have mentioned that they believe their purpose in life is to leave this world in better shape than we they arrived on the scene. But what if you were able to learn that our planet and society -- despite your best efforts -- would be much worse off on the day that you die. Would that mean you lived a life with a hollow purpose?
I certainly know that some people see their purpose as being to amass as much fortune, status, influence and power as possible in the hopes of passing it on to family and/or friends. But what if their great fortune vanished one day. Would that mean your purpose in life had vanished too?
And, of course, there are millions upon millions of people around the world who believe their chief purpose is to serve and love their chosen god or deity. But what if you were able to ascertain that this god/deity was nothing more than a story. Would that mean your purpose was lost because of a lie?
I used to think that the purpose of life was life itself, but I have recently entertained the notion that there is no purpose at all. Maybe, to pose the question in the first place misses the whole point entirely.
It would seem that no other creature on this planet poses that sort of question. I often watch my dogs and cats as well as the flora and fauna around my house. None of them seems to question life or their existence. They embrace the mystery of it all and see no purpose in venturing beyond that point.
They live their lives -- however long or short -- to the fullest extent and, in time, each one dies. They don't seem to sit around pondering morality or purpose.
Maybe they are on to something...or maybe not.
A lot of parents have told me they believe that their purpose is to provide for their children, nurture their growth, protect them from harm and to serve as a continued resource. But what if through a tragic circumstance your children died long before you did. Would that mean you no longer have purpose?
Other people have mentioned that they believe their purpose in life is to leave this world in better shape than we they arrived on the scene. But what if you were able to learn that our planet and society -- despite your best efforts -- would be much worse off on the day that you die. Would that mean you lived a life with a hollow purpose?
I certainly know that some people see their purpose as being to amass as much fortune, status, influence and power as possible in the hopes of passing it on to family and/or friends. But what if their great fortune vanished one day. Would that mean your purpose in life had vanished too?
And, of course, there are millions upon millions of people around the world who believe their chief purpose is to serve and love their chosen god or deity. But what if you were able to ascertain that this god/deity was nothing more than a story. Would that mean your purpose was lost because of a lie?
I used to think that the purpose of life was life itself, but I have recently entertained the notion that there is no purpose at all. Maybe, to pose the question in the first place misses the whole point entirely.
It would seem that no other creature on this planet poses that sort of question. I often watch my dogs and cats as well as the flora and fauna around my house. None of them seems to question life or their existence. They embrace the mystery of it all and see no purpose in venturing beyond that point.
They live their lives -- however long or short -- to the fullest extent and, in time, each one dies. They don't seem to sit around pondering morality or purpose.
Maybe they are on to something...or maybe not.
I think I'm here to nag you. (Just kidding.)
ReplyDeleteIsn't our "purpose" to return to Tao? Not sure "purpose" is a Taoist concept. It's like that "usefullness" problem. The useful tree gets cut down.
I gotta share this comic:
ReplyDeletehttp://xkcd.com/167/
I love the way he turns it, agrees that there's no purpose, but then sees what that really means: ultimate adventure. Purpose is a sort of cage or chain.
My purpose os to breathe. Beyond that it's anyone's guess and all bets are off.
ReplyDeletebut aren't we all simply expressions of the tao, and our purpose only relevant in so far as it is in alignment with the tao? it troubles me that a purpose seems loaded with a pass/fail solution. it seems more likely that we are free to do as we wish, without judgement, and only really possible to evaluate, if a third party cared to, on the basis of whether or not you were as aligned with the tao at the end as when you started.
ReplyDeleteI always felt that part of Taoism was letting go, letting yourself flow gracefully with life's ever changing situations and adapting to them. In light of this, surely the idea of your life having a single purpose is rather strange?
ReplyDeletePerhaps it's better to seek purpose in the moment? Wherever you are, whatever you are doing *now*; this is your purpose!
Well, rethinking...the purpose of a cat or a dog is to be a cat or a dog. (I envy my cat sometimes, but I don't really want to BE him.) The purpose of a human being is to be a human being, and to ask these questions is being very human. I've always liked Carl Sagan's remark that "We are the universe's way of knowing itself." That is our highest purpose. Oh, and to reproduce, our biological purpose, which when you consider the higher purpose, seems less compelling.
ReplyDelete