For years now Ive been on what my best mate terms “a soul search”; I am a seeker who wonders about those big questions: why are we here? what is the purpose of life? what is the meaning of life? how do I live an authentic, inspiring, and satisfying life? how do I live a joyful life full of happiness?
I have come to the conclusion – though this is not a recent conclusion – that there is no ultimate purpose, no ultimate meaning, no ultimate grand reason for life on this planet. I believe that each of us makes our own purpose and finds our own meaning.
As I find I struggle more when I don’t have a purpose for doing something – from something as mundane as throwing a napkin away to something a little bigger like an essay to the biggest one of all, living – I set out to define my purpose. I couldnt narrow this down to one singular purpose, so I have six. These resonate with me, make sense to me, are meangingful to me, and perhaps most importantly, inspire me. An odd source – Wikipedia, of all things – was exceptional in helping me articulate my sixfold purpose.
These six purposes can be defined in so many ways, and are adaptable to many different people. Here is what they mean to me:
Realise my potential
Make my dreams a reality.
Be the best version of me that I can be.
Achieve biological perfection
Flourish.
Live a life of underlying health and wellbeing.+
Live to my life expectancy?++
Transition on my own terms.
Seek wisdom and knowledge
Learn as much as possible.
Learn continually throughout life.
Seek and gain knowledge from new, ancient, traditional, and spiritual sources.
Do good
Have a positive impact on people, however small it may be.
Assist those less fortunate whenever possible.
Enjoy the act of living
Enjoy life.
Enjoy the pleasurable things that happen everyday.
See beauty everywhere.
Attain spiritual enlightenment
Expand consciousness to live and act from a higher perspective.
Never cease wonder at our beautiful universe.
Fully realise Oneness, my connection with all that is.
So there we have it!
+this is in general. sniffles, flus, bumps, and the like will happen. nobody is in flawless health 100% of the time. ++Im not sure about this one. transitioning young appeals to me, but so does transitioning as a centenarian. this is also the most difficult purpose to achieve.
