(My posts are generally a "Thought Experiment" so don't take everything I say as if I mean any of it. It is just random thoughts recorded to be sorted out. It is a way to reason out things."
"What gives your life purpose?"
This was a question posed during a fireside chat with friends from a little card game we played. Everyone had a different answer to that question and to be honest, at that moment, I had a hard time saying what mine was. However, upon reflection, it occurred to me that everyone's responses could all be wrapped into one basic concept of accomplishment. People feel a sense of purpose and fulfillment when they have accomplished something.
It doesn't matter what it is. Doing something and getting a positive result gives us a feeling of accomplishment. Whether it is mowing the lawn or building a rocket ship that can get you to the moon both have the same sense of gratification attached to it. The thing that makes life worth living is having a purpose, or as I state in my book, Boredom to Brilliance, a sacred commission that gives our lives meaning.
Now, it could be argued that life has meaning and justification in just existing, but we aren't animals that simply exist even though the wisdom and peacefulness that may give us would be desirable. Animals do things too, but they don't need to feel a life's purpose or feeling of accomplishment. Having something to eat is enough.
Why do humans need a purpose? What sort of egotism requires a purpose? Why isn't simply existing enough? What did Jesus say? "Consider the lilies of the valley...they don't work or strive for something...there is no other thing more beautifully adorned." Something like that. It is the idea that we worry and fret over earning a living by working and living up to some sacred commission we create to give us purpose. It is a fascinating question because just stating something like that is inferring an accomplishment of some kind.
I say that most of my posts are sort of thought experiments. But, writing this down on my blog is 'doing something' even though I don't have a plan by doing it. I just write. But, when I have written, at least I have accomplished something today. Over time the list of today's will lead to a long list of blog posts over the years. I doubt they are worth much, but they are worth more than if I hadn't done it.
Fast approaching my 65th year of life and the prospect of teaching a class or two at the WKU Society of Lifelong Learning forces me to look at my time remaining on this earth in a different way than I have done before. What does it mean for Senior Adults to have a purpose for living? I think one big category for many is being a grandparent or great-grandparent. That is something I will never get to be and I am sorry about not having children or a successful family life. But, I can't do much about it now so there is no reason to fret over it. But, still, what purpose other than that could give Seniors a purpose? What accomplishment should one fulfill?
Getting out of the house
Why leave the house unless you have some purpose behind it? Why travel unless you need to travel to accomplish something? Unless you have a reason to go somewhere does it make any sense to go there? Many people own dogs because it is the only thing that will get them off of the couch and go for a walk. The dog must be taken for a walk. That gives me a reason to walk. You leave the house to go to the store, to go to work, to shop, or to go visit a friend. But just going out to randomly walk somewhere just for the exercise doesn't motivate me to do it. I have to be going somewhere that is not in a circle.
Being and Doing
Who we are is or isn't what we do?
It is an easy thing to say that 'being' is enough for us in life. But, who can you think of that you don't think of them in terms of what they do? Right now, I can't think of anyone that I don't have something that they do attached to them as to who they are. What you do IS who you are and if you aren't doing it anymore it is still how people see you.
What am I being/doing? What purpose do I have right now? What am I trying to accomplish?
I'll admit the answer to the above is "nothing". I am lost like a Goldfish that has jumped out of the Fish Bowl, flopping around in life feeling completely out of my element. The way out of this feeling is to see every mundane thing as a challenge to be overcome. Don't just see things as chores, see them as obstacles to be overcome and the feeling of accomplishment will be the reward. Don't discount anything you do as being unimportant because life is about the small stuff. Without the small stuff the big stuff will never be accomplished. You can have a big hairy goal or a small little goal, but both require accomplishment and an appreciation of that accomplishment.
The Bottom Line
Climbing to the top of a hill, sailing across a lake, or cleaning the house—all these activities are achievements in their own right. A "purpose" can be described as a clear reason for living, and it is this definition that empowers us. Engaging in activities that align with our purpose becomes the work we choose, ultimately leading to a sense of fulfillment.