What do I believe my purpose in life is?
I do not have a clue.
Some say whatever goals you make in life is your purpose. I do not agree. Life purpose, I would think, would be more along the lines of destiny. I could get into all the angles of the Forrest Gump philosophy but I believe it would be worthless in the long run.
Famous people probably know what their life purpose is and, presumably, boost about it on occasion. Did they know what their reason for their lives was from the time they were children? I would think most of them did not until the one turning event happened, maybe even later than that.
I imagine someone like Albert Einstein did not give two hoots about this line of thinking until he developed his theory of relativity in his later twenties. He was too busy doing what he loved to do, create new concepts for the world. Maybe he did not think about life’s purpose even then.
Why am I here?
So far, I have not seen the glimmer of any evidence that would explain the motive for my existence. I may never discover it either. I might have already fulfilled my purpose somewhere in my past, making any time after that a drift on the sea of life until the end.
Other animals do not ponder on such prattle. They live their lives out the best they can and be done with it. I do not think this means they think only of the moment at hand though. If that was so, they would not prepare for danger and would not migrate to other areas to find food.
My life is full for the most part. Sure, there are lulls when I am bored and restless but usually, my life is adequate and even entertaining, although not always in a good way. To speculate on my purpose for my existence in this world usually strikes me as being fruitless and inconsequential.
Life is here for me to live through. Pondering on the why will not make it easier. Nor will it make it disappear.
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“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt
A Scripted Maze 
Glynis, you pose an intriguing question, something I thought about a great deal when I was young. Never had an answer then. Now I’m not sure any one definition would fulfill a universally accepted answer. I don’t think that only famous people have a purpose or know what their purpose is – that’s a recognized achievement, not necessarily a purpose. Whatever you define as your purpose, perhaps it’s what gives you a motive for getting up each morning. That might be eating pancakes or figuring out how to attain world peace. I agree with you about your ultimate answer.
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Shari, I have been thrown this question from time to time since I was a teenager. Young, I would try to diligently find the answer. Now, in later years, other questions evolve from the one. At this point, I do not believe there is an answer and wonder if it even deserves one.
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I really loved the ending 🙂 Great post.
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Thank you, Anjana. 🙂
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Such an interesting proposition. ‘I may never discover it either.’ We’re always changing in life. Our priorities change and we constantly change as people. The way we approach our passion like writing changes too. What we want, and what we aim for, will never just be one thing in a moment.
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I agree with you wholeheartedly, Mabel. What was important yesterday is trivial today.
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I think that our purpose reveals itself, as you say, destiny more than goal setting. Who can say, at any given point, what will be important tomorrow? I guess the important thing is to be ready to respond.
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You make a valid point, Dan. One I did not consider until reading your comment. Purpose does need a response.
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I’ll disagree with Eleanor. I don’t think the purpose of my life is to live it. Not that I have a clue what it is! Maybe it’s a metaphor for something else or simply, “Nothing to see here.”
Just don’t know and mostly don’t really care.
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Maybe purpose is not supposed to be defined by us but, instead, by the sum of our lives.
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BTW, I wanted to mention how perfect the image is for this post. I’ve never seen this one before. It says so much about ambiguity and possibility.
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I went right by it the first time I was looking for an image for this post but as I scrolled down the page, the picture kept on popping into my mind. Finally, I rolled back up to it and snatched it. [Thank you RANT.]
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I often feel purposeless, but then I also find comfort in that feeling as well. Not everyone is going to achieve great things, but we can all take the time to appreciate what you have. I guess my purpose is to always learn and grow and challenge myself. That way I can die with fewer regrets.
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Challenges are important to me too, Jeri. Mine seem to take me in so many directions, which could be why I feel that a purpose in life cannot be achieved.
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Excellent, insightful post.
I’ve thought of my purpose from a young age.
WHY AM I HERE? What is my purpose?
And I’ve always known,
or at least, for me this is true.
To serve. To love. To reach out to others. To be there. here. now.
To seek God. To write words. To experience every single thing.
Yes, I think that’s it!
X From MN.
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My purpose in life is still unknown to me. Now that I am in my sixties, I doubt seriously that it will ever be known.
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More and more I am coming around to the view that it is more about the journey and less about the destination. Purpose sounds like a destination thing.
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I agree wholeheartedly with you, Ankur. Some people are so caught up in what life has for them that they lose all sight of what is right in front of them.
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Every thought conveys a message and the thought that you spoke about at the end did too…to me.
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Glad you liked this post, Amal. Thank you for stopping by. I hope to see you here in the future sometime again. 🙂
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Sure.✌
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The purpose of life? big question and yet century after century we ask ourselves the same question. Everybody have different purpose some of them never find them but those who find the purpose of life i believe they achieve happiness because live a life without meaning is no life to live
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You have some deep thoughts there. Personally, I believe that if a person is so into finding the purpose of life, he or she is missing out on the best moments of life.
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It has been explained to me that to find your life purpose is to look at your talents and passions. That is probably is your purpose. The reason a lot of people don’t find there purpose is because they think it applies to their job. Your purpose is probably that thing that you are passionate about, but someone told you can’t be profitable doing it. Then you join the workforce to make money not happiness. Your purpose can turn into a career or make you money. It needs to start with you passion first. There is also purpose that doesn’t reward financially, but spiritually.
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Nathan, I know what it means to find your purpose in life. I am mostly cerebral so this type of thinking is common for me. Still, many people get so caught up in all that thinking, pondering, and musing so there is not any time left for actually living. That is where the real learning is.
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Good point. It is good to know you have a purpose. Just don’t obsess with what it is. What if because are not living your purpose and you choose to live life, but you still feel unfulfilled because you have this overwhelming feeling that you are suppose to be doing something. You could choose to live life to the fullest, but what if that is wrong? What does living life mean to you? Does it mean travel to exotic location, do adrenaline pumping activities, or getting wasted with good friend every weekend?5
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Nathan, if you have not read my About or My Disability Quirks pages, I suggest you do. You may learn a thing or two about me.
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I just read your disability quirks page. I am inspired by you. You a performing your life’s purpose.
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