Just a thought...
Occasionally, there comes a time in everyone's life where they wonder if they have a purpose in life. It's difficult to come up with a general answer to this question. To define a purpose of life, one must consider himself a being of destiny. One must consider the possibility that we were born in this life to achieve something and contribute it to others. Many of us are willing to address this question within ourselves, but for the most part we seem to have become too pre-occupied with the "here and now" to come to a final conclusion and decision what to do with our answer.
My philosophy of life is built on many levels. I believe our basic purpose in life is to survive. We are beings that have many built-in defense mechanisms. We hunger, thirst, and have drives to fulfill or most basic and vital needs. We have fears to protect us from danger. We have pain to protect us from harm. We are no different from any species on this earth. On the most basic level, we are just animals that have a basic instinct to stay alive.
On a slightly higher level, our purpose of life is to help continue the cycle of life. For many millions of years, we, the animals who coexist on this earth, have had enough intelligence to keep the human race alive and evolving. We don't need to think very hard about procreation, we are simply driven by stimulous. Because of this, all aspects of life are destined to continue on indefinitely.
On a slightly higher level, our purpose of life is to think and learn. We go beyond just the basics of developing our instinctive behaviors. We keep records of every event in our life, whether consciously or subconsciously. We can somehow tell the difference between right and wrong, true and false, satisfaction and non-satisfaction. We can somehow see consequences before they happen. We begin seeing the future because of the past. Ultimately, we are not only faced with task of making choices, but having to decide which are correct choices.
On a slightly higher level, the purpose of life is to achieve and contribute. Many people who believe there is a purpose for living, believe that the most important purpose of life is to garner information and then use it to change the way we live and think. We not only see the future, but we discover that we can change it as well. We also understand our limitations and draw upon others for support. We give of ourselves in order to make a more significant difference for the future. Our vision of life goes beyond our life span and into future generations of time.
On a slightly higher level, the purpose of life is to develop humanity, compassion, and love for others. These are elements that give power and strength to the human race. They are elements that give nourishment to our intellects and emotions which, in turn, affect our abilities to prosper and expand. When we develop the opposite characteristics; hatred, envy and spite - we become more self centered and more vulnerable to quick destruction.
I wondered, when I was a kid, why our purpose in life is geared towards the kinder and gentler things. Was it something that we all decided to believe out of fear? Why have we not come to the conclusion that the purpose of life is an ugly destructive thing instead? Some people may believe this way due to circumstance. Can life exist without a purpose? If not, then it would be unreasonable to believe that it's purpose would be destructive. In fact, as I said in the beginning - I believe our most basic purpose in life is to survive. Thus life, by it's very nature, is set to a course that only leads to progression. Why would there be any argument against that assumption?
On a slightly higher level, our purpose of life is to progress eternally. Life is not confined to this earth, the universe, or mortality. Life is eternal. It must be. Some people still believe that man designs our purpose in life, individually and collectively. To a degree, I believe this is true. However, I also believe, like many things, that life can only progress by certain laws that man can't change. Rather than wasting time, living day by day like a tv sitcom, why don't people spend more time contemplating, like Aristotle or Plato of ancient times, the great laws that govern our existence and the continuance of life?
The highest purpose of life, of course, is to discover our origins and our maker, our God, and to become like him. I truly believe that God exists. I believe that man is too small to make the conclusion that there is no God and no eternity. In fact, those who profess to believe that there is no life beyond the grave and no Divine creator are usually those whose only conclusion is "I just want wanna make sure I don't wind up fooling myself during this lifetime".
I believe that God is much more than a source of "higher power". Stars and suns and astronomical forces are what I consider sources of higher power. Indeed, they give sustenance to life and keep the universe moving. But God is a tangible personage with intelligence, emotions, and spirit and who is responsible for the organization of all these things. Thus, whatever we do with ourselves in this lifetime - I would hope that it is something that will help us to become closer to who and, eventually, where He is through His plan.
I'm not so much a believer in organized religion as I am in a divinely organized plan which encompasses an organized religion.
