purpose of life

[JazmenFlowers]

what is the purpose of life? and what happens after death?

this is something I think about a lot. I'm not sure I have reached a conclusion as to what I believe, but I constantly ponder. and I wondered what you guys think. plus, it wouldn't be bad to have a good, interesting thread going.

[David]

Originally Posted by JazmenFlowers

what is the purpose of life? and what happens after death?

I believe that the purpose of life is to imbue life with purpose.

I'm eager to hear what others have to say.

[LukeA]

Never fear! I hear there are belief systems called "religions", formulated by people just like you and me, that explain everything!

(just choose carefully, though. some ask for 10% of your stuff in exchange for access to the divine- so you better spend wisely)

In all seriousness- life is what you make it. Its as simple and complicated as that.

[Musicman408]

This is something that I think about a lot. I had a teacher in high school- my high school choir director- who was always doing something and felt like he had to be doing something. He never slows down, and I really admired him because he was great at what he does. So I try to take on that mentality of always giving back and doing something and whatnot- but sometimes I wonder if it's me doing that because that's what I want to do, or because it's what I think HE would be doing, and like I said, I look up to him a lot. SO that's kind of the self debate that I'm going through right now.

[markolas]

Not sure there's a purpose (as in some kind of divine plan), other than to realize our spiritual potential, which sounds vague. I tend to be kinda pessmistic and misanthropic, so the idea (which Buddhism teaches) that people are inherently good, but that our essentially pure nature is covered with a lot of muck, keeps that in check somewhat. So, I think that is our purpose - to uncover that pure nature, as difficult as it can be to believe in it.

And I've always believed in reincarnation, even before I knew the word for it.

[desertangel]

The Purpose of Life is to Learn and Leave Pixie Dust in Your Path

To learn to love and be loved, unconditionally
To accept the good, the bad, the unexplained and the unbelieveable
To embrace all life has to offer without judgment
To learn much about everything around you
It's about:
Respect
Dignity
Being open and honest
Acceptance
Tolerance
Responsibility

Most of all... it's about love.



I would be remiss if I didn't list what I thought life is NOT about;

It is NOT about allowing the past to over shadow the present
It is NOT about things
It is NOT about what you look like
It is NOT about who loves you
It is NOT about what people say
It is NOT about right or wrong
It is NOT about fairness

[daniellaaarisen]

I am interested to hear what everyone has to say-- like most of you, I question the purpose of life constantly.

To put it simply, I completely agree with David. Since people genuinely believe that life should have a greater purpose, our constant effort to fulfill that is what truly gives our individual lifetimes significance.

I believe that life is about constantly expanding our capacity to love relentlessly, and, just as importantly, believing in another's ability to love ourselves with the same power. In the process of learning and applying this-- yes, with the turbulance along the way-- the "purpose" aspect shines through:

Express, in whatever way you can, what you have learned.

Some people are naturally open and loving towards everyone, to varying degrees. These people show that everyone can be appreciated-- even adored-- without a single condition.

Others could not care less about anyone in the world outside of his or her inner circle, if they love much at all. Some of these people show their extreme depth of love for the people who have proven themselves lovable to that individual. They may not give a crap about the rest of the world, but they teach us exactly how deep love can penetrate. Those who can no longer love at all show us, on the other hand, how deep hate can penetrate-- vulnerability is necessary to love fully, and it has its consequences.

Some people start non-profit organizations to display their idea of love to all of those who will either be aided directly by their work or who will indirectly watch the results.

Some people will be defense attorneys and others will be prosecutors. Some people will raise children and others will be excellent aunts and uncles. Some will write books on their destroyed marriages and others will act in either heart-wrenching or hilarious films. Some will be doctors, others will murder.

If we do things with our lives that express how we feel about others, we are fulfilling a life purpose, whether good or bad.

Personally, I am a writer. I hope with every fiber of my being that people get something out of what I write. I hope to one day teach creative writing students at the graduate level. While I hope to put my own ideas onto paper and somehow emotionally sway a reader, I also hope to encourage others interested in the written word to do the same.

Essentially, I think the purpose of life is to self-express-- honestly, without reservations, and sometimes painstakingly if need be.

[LiamMcConville]

I believe that the purpose of life is best illustrated by Jeremy Bentham's principle of greatest-happiness. That you should live life in a way that creates happiness & quality pleasure for those who surround you. I believe further, that the purpose of life is to positively effect and imprint on the greatest amount of people possible.

After "death", I believe your spirit becomes part of the "collective consciousness" (not the meaning popularized by Émile Durkheim), which is what I believe to be the governing force on this planet., this is also the entity out of which future souls are born.

I also believe in Niche's theory of "eternal reoccurrence". That we were all here before, and are reliving a past lives but there is no way to consciously realize this: why we feel Deja Vu.

I'll ramble on more when I'm not exhausted.

[daniellaaarisen]

Originally Posted by LiamMcConville

I believe further, that the purpose of life is to positively effect and imprint on the greatest amount of people possible.

I think that's what it all comes down to.

[GoldDustBoy]

I don't believe there is a divine purpose of life. The purpose of life is to be the person that you are. To be surrounded by people you like and love, and do the things that make you feel fulfilled. It's important to learn how to appreciate big AND small things in life. Life is not complicated at all, people just tend to make it look like it is. And about death... Nobody really knows is there anything after death. I am an atheist, (but have absolutely nothing against anybody practicing any religion) and I do believe that when you die you simply cease to exist, but since I still haven't died I could not be sure if there is some kind of consciousness after life. Speaking about death, I've accepted the fact that it's really one of the most natural things that happen, and I am really not afraid of my own death. However I am very, very afraid of the death of the people I love. Being hypersensitive I take it very bad.

[becca]

I will inject a bit of Dao here...

My purpose is to infest this planet, procreate, consume, deficate, and reincarnate until the species hits a dead evolutionary end.

My purpose is to learn, love, grow, share, enjoy and do what I can to make all of our children and their world better than ourselves and our own time.

I had very strong feelings and melancholy as a kid about a past life. The effect of this sort of knowledge has seemed mosty negative for me, and reincarnation is something I believe in but hate the idea of. I think I'm a better person now than I was earlier or before mainly through the help of others, what might be random chance, and then sometimes my own efforts and hard decisions. Things I've learned are that acting on faith or investing in the future rather than reacting or thinking short-term 'now' is difficult but essential for positive results to ever happen. We all owe the people who have acted on faith. Sometimes that is called altruistic but there is a self interest at work in that one genuinely desires the well being of all. The poor person who gives 80% trumps the wealthy giving 10% in some ways, in the sense that a wealthy person might give an amount of beans and be irresponsible in other ways thinking they have contributed while the poor person might be investing time, actions and hope in general into the world and our future. Jesus said "what you do for the least among you, you do for me." Like turning the other cheek or forgiving trespasses it is a very difficult thing to live, often enough by some who profess Christ pubicly the most. The Hindu Upanishads describe an Atman, or higher self (holy spirit?), we all can have access to and receive guidance from. If you simply express love by thought or deed you are sowing a seed of hope and acting on faith, this will open you to a higher form of existing. We come from our ancestors and their bodies and actions, but when you discern your true root then you can return and reclaim. It's better to try and claim a higher root (route) and to be mistaken than to assume the worst of yourself and/or others.

Buddha consciousness (as well as the LSD experience) shows us all to be connected and 'one'. Perhaps we're all on some part of a great cyclic mandala spreading toward variety and discovery as well as back to a destination we came from but will return to with essences enriched and more completely defined. Or perhaps we are the nothingness inside of a circle that is only conceptual and which has nothing outside of it.

[strandinthewind]

From a scientific point of view, the main purpose of human beings is to procreate. Preservation of the species and all that. This is why sex feels good. Mother nature wants us to want to do it. In many ways, almost of our socialization skills revolve around and support the need to procreate and the related area of nurturing the off spring.

But, human beings also have a higher functioning brain (well, most at least ) -- this is where IMO, religion or spirituality comes in to play. Humans have the power to exercise free will, think rationally, communicate on a complex level, create new things when the main thing does not work (think sign language) , etc. No other species has all of these things, though some, like ants, have complex socialization skills based on a crude chemical based language they cannot function without. I think this higher order of thinking for human beings is fundamental to our reason for being. It is our purpose. Some see the Face of God in this "extra" design that separates us from the other species. Others say it was the luck of the draw that began millions of years ago. The trick is no one really knows for sure.

Anyway, my $0.02

[Ghost_Tracker]

Originally Posted by LiamMcConville

I believe that the purpose of life is best illustrated by Jeremy Bentham's principle of greatest-happiness. That you should live life in a way that creates happiness & quality pleasure for those who surround you. I believe further, that the purpose of life is to positively effect and imprint on the greatest amount of people possible.

PREFERABLY without plagiarizing Utilitarianism from the Greeks.

[Ghost_Tracker]

Anyway, personally I believe that our purpose in life is to grow in the Spirit towards God as much as personally possible for ourselves as individuals, and to learn as much as we can and enjoy life and love our families and friends; and to help them to grow as well. And/or to sit in front of the tv set drinking beer and eating pizza and wondering why Bart can't take that skateboard outside and stop going up and down the banister with it.

Sitting in a car stuck on the freeway breathing car fumes for hours while listening to crazies rant on the radio is optional but apparently quite popular.....

[David]

Originally Posted by Ghost_Tracker

Anyway, personally I believe that our purpose in life is to grow in the Spirit towards God as much as personally possible for ourselves as individuals

To that end, I think that the Ledge enables us to do so, don't you think?