In the solitude of my thoughts, I have had unending discussions and debates on my PURPOSE in life!
Purpose is the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists. Have as one's intention or objective. This is according to Google.
In this article, I self-introspect to answer the questions I have about my purpose in life. I share my intuitive understanding or not so much understanding of my purpose in this life. I invite your mind to indulge my mind's perspectives, as it reveals both its knowledge and ignorance about my purpose in life.
Before we begin, I think there's a huge difference between life's purpose in me and my purpose in life. By "life's purpose" I mean, life brings with it events including twists and turns that we have to face and respond to. The why, when, and how life does that, as its purpose, is not so much the focus of this article.
So what are the many questions that my mind has about my purpose in life?
What is my purpose in this life? Since I don't exist by myself on this earth, then what is our purpose in life? Is there both an individual and collective purpose?
Is my purpose in life something that I should already know, discover, or a hidden mystery in the process of life?
Do I have one big purpose or multiple "micro-purposes" in this life?
I often hear of "greater purpose" in life. What is it and how do I know this greater purpose? Is it something I will or must eventually achieve? Is it something I should be working towards, or is it something that I am already living, being, and achieving?
Is life's purpose a destination or a journey?
Actually, is there such a thing as purpose in life or is life just what it is?
How my mind tries to contextualise my purpose in life:
As a baby/child...
When I was a baby, helpless and innocent "assuming I was innocent" what purpose was I fulfilling? When I started being conscious and the innocence had a touch of mischief here and there, what purpose in life was I fulfilling?
Is my greater purpose, if such a thing exists, already embedded in me and I don't have to think about it or is it still being shaped?
As I play my character...
When I am being nice, rude, polite, naughty, hardworking, lazy, making it easy for others or making it difficult for others, where and how does my purpose in life in these actions/reactions fit in?
If the circumstances I find myself in, lead me to be angry or respond with anger, what purpose in life am I fulfilling by being angry?
In and out of love...
If I meet someone who stirs up my emotions in a way that my heart floats in the sweetness of nothingness, so-called "love"...lols, and when I fall in love, what purpose in life am I fulfilling by being or falling in love? What is the purpose in my life of the person I fall in love with? When the two of us give each other butterflies, comfort, and safety, is that the purpose or is there a greater purpose? When we are done tolerating each other's nonsense, grow apart, and no longer feeling the butterflies, comfort, and safety is it still part of the purpose or is the purpose in life done?
As a member of a family...
In a family, what is my purpose or purpose am I fulfilling in life as a son, sibling, cousin, or nephew etc.,? In a family, is there a collective purpose in this life or do we only have individual purposes? Do individual purposes converge to become one wholesome greater purpose in life for the family?
In the financial world...
If I end up broke, what purpose in life am I fulfilling or is being broke the purpose? If I become wealthy, what purpose in life am I fulfilling or is being wealthy the purpose? Who chooses any of these purposes in life anyway? Is there a collective purpose in life for the broke? Is there a collective purpose for the wealthy? What is the greater purpose for the broke and the wealthy?
As a thief...
If I happen to steal valuables from others, is my purpose in life stealing or is stealing the purpose of my life at just that particular moment? If I happen not to feel bad or guilty for stealing, what does it say about my purpose in life? Does it then mean that my greater purpose in life includes moments of stealing or rather being a thief at some point in my life or would it be just a hiccup to my purpose in life?
For the stolen from...
By having the valuables, what was their greater purpose in life in this case? To buy valuables just so that they can be eventually stolen by me? Was it so that I could fulfil my purpose of stealing? Should they have already known that the purpose in life for buying the valuables included them being stolen? What was the greater purpose that was being fulfilled when the valuables were stolen? In this case, whose purpose in life has been fulfilled or awaits fulfilment?
So what then...?
If at different points in my life, I have both fallen in and out of love, been angry and compassionate, stolen and been stolen from, been broke and wealthy, became rude and polite, was lazy and hardworking, made it difficult or easy for others, am I still be serving my greater purpose in life? Is greater purpose one thing, and not the other, or a combination of everything that I am experiencing in this life?
Much as I wish I knew my greater purpose in life, if only such a thing exists, most importantly, I wish I knew the micro-purposes of the day-to-day events and circumstances that we experience in our lives.
The dilemma...
On the one hand, it would appear that I should just go about my life without overthinking my purpose in life. I should just do and respond to life events as they come, using my intuition as a guide and hope that how I respond and do life, is in line with my purpose or greater purpose in life, if there exists such a thing.
On the other hand, it seems understanding the purpose or greater purpose in life, if there's such a thing, is far too great for me. The easier way, at least for me, is seemingly to shift my focus from finding or trying to understand purpose in life, to creating meaningful responses to life events. This means being conscious, intentional, and mindful of my day-to-day do's and don'ts, hoping that the outcome of my actions over time will result in the fulfilment of my greater purpose if there is such a thing.
So is there a purpose in life?
- If there is one purpose or greater purpose in life, I am inclined to believe it is to LIVE. Given that life is full of events including twists and turns that we have to face and respond to, my perspective is that to fulfil this purpose i.e., to LIVE, until life decides otherwise, there are three guiding principles: -
1. Acknowledging ignorance about life itself: To acknowledge my ignorance and the fact that there is so much that I don’t know or understand about life. This will help me tame my ego and be eager to humbly learn from life events as they unfold. - 2. Accept life events: To accept that I do not have full control of the events that happen in my life. As such, allow life to flow in and out of me. This will help me to gracefully embrace life events as they happen, knowing that I am ignorant of the why and when of most of my life events.
- 3. Be intentional: To learn to be intentional and conscious of my actions, reactions, and thoughts in response to life events as they happen. Whereas there could be unintended consequences to my actions, I will still be more at peace in my conscious if my actions were intentional as opposed to having kneejerk reactions.
I should spice up the “living” with some other key ingredients including having fun and doing my best, based on my knowledge and abilities at the time, in everything that I do.
I just realised I have not thought of, what if there's no such a thing as 'my purpose in life".
On that note, thank you for indulging me!
What is your perspective?
Na huu ni mtazamo wangu "and this is my perspective."
