September 1, 2024
What is the purpose of life?
Trick question. There is no single one purpose of life. There are anywhere between zero and infinity potential purposes of life. A purpose of life may be to create meaningful and valuable purposes to live and stay alive.
Some life purposes may be more meaningful or compelling than others. A compelling purpose of life my be to flourish. Your natural flourishing may naturally benefit others in the life cycle. In reality, the purpose of life is a deeply personal question that has been pondered by theologians, philosophers, scientists, and individuals throughout human history. Different religions, philosophies, disciplines, and cultures offer various interpretations of what may be the purpose of life, if any.
1. Religious and Spiritual Perspectives:
Divine Purpose: Many religious ascribe (and impose) an imaginary divine purpose to life such as fulfilling the righteous will or mysterious plan of a divine creator to obtain a mythical reward. For example, in Christianity, the purpose might be to serve God and achieve salvation in an imaginary eternal afterlife in heaven. In Buddhism, the purpose of life might be to attain enlightenment and escape the cycle of suffering. Many religions emphasize serving others and contributing to the well-being of humanity as a way to fulfill life's sacred or divine purpose.
2. Philosophical Perspectives:
There are as many views about the purpose of life as there are philosophies out there. A few examples include:
- Existentialism: Existentialist philosophers argue that life has no inherent purpose and that it is up to each individual to create their own meaning through their choices and actions. Humans must create their own purpose in an indifferent and purposeless physical universe.
- Humanism believes that the purpose of life can be found in the pursuit of knowledge, creativity, love, and the betterment of humanity. The philosophy focuses on developing human values to lead a productive, beneficial, and ethical life.
- Stoicism: Teaches that the purpose of life is to live in alignment with nature and to achieve self-realization. Stoics believe that developing virtue such as temperance (self-control) is necessary to fulfill the self-realization purpose of life. Stoicism encourages individuals to cultivate knowledge to embark on a journey of self-discovery and to find their unique place in the world without settling for less than full self-realization despite the many obstacles and challenges along the way.
- Nihilism: No Inherent Purpose: Nihilists believe that life has no inherent purpose, meaning, or value. For some, this realization leads to despair. For others, it brings freedom by relieving the pressure of having to conform to imposed rules for a predetermined purpose, and being able to choose one's own purpose.
Pain relief: From a biological standpoint, the purpose of life could be seen as keeping homeostasis by avoiding pain and seeking pain relief (PR). Life is driven by the instinct to avoid or reduce pain, which leads statistically to higher odds of survival, reproduction, and the passing of genes to the next generation. Evolutionary biology suggests that life’s purpose might be to adapt to the environment, contributing to evolution and the survival of evolved species over time.
4. Psychological and Personal Perspectives:
Flourishing: The field of psychology has proposed that the purpose of life is to achieve self-actualization, where individuals fulfill their potential in personal growth, self-mastery, and beneficial creativity. Positive psychology emphasizes the importance of finding meaning in life through positive experiences, personal development, and caring connections with others.
5. Social and Cultural Perspectives:
Different cultures define life's purpose differently aligned with their values and traditions. In some cultures, the purpose of life may be to honor ancestors, preserve cultural heritage, fulfill social roles, etc. For many, the purpose of life entails contributing to society, whether through work, family, community involvement, activism, or in any other manner. Interestingly, for many individuals, the idea of leaving a legacy or making a positive impact on the world is a common motivation.
What are the purposes of life?
That may be a better question. To ask what is "the" purpose of life implies that there is a definitive purpose. In reality, however, there may be no single purpose or there may be more than one purpose. The question does not have a definitive answer, as it varies based on individual beliefs, experiences, and worldviews. Some find purpose in spiritual or religious beliefs, others in personal fulfillment, others contributing to society, and conceivably others may find the purpose of life is to destroy and damage.
In any event, the search for "the" purpose of life is often seen as a central aspect of the human experience. Life is pain. Intelligent life is pain management. Part of the human condition is asking what, if any, is the purpose of all of this that we call life and reality at large for that matter. Each person may arrive at their own understanding of what makes life meaningful and what may be the purpose of life in this practically infinite (PI) universe at any given point in spacetime.
At Creatix, we suggest that a fundamental purpose of life is to create. We see the universe itself as a creative matrix. A matrix is a place or platform where things are created or transformed. To create is to transform. Life is a creative force that transforms organic matter into energy that life employs to further create and transform.
Life may not have an intrinsic purpose per se, but it lends itself to the creation of an unlimited or practically infinite (PI) amount of different purposes. One such purpose besides creating is flourishing.
What is flourishing? How can humans flourish in life?
To "flourish" is to realize your optimal potential in life. To flourish well may entail doing so in a way that not only benefits yourself, but also benefits humanity and/or life at large. Human flourishing or achieving self-realization is a process that involves self-improvement and social improvement. This concept is central to many philosophical, psychological, and spiritual traditions.
Flourishing requires continuous self improvement (sI) and social improvement (Si). There is unlimited information and blah, blah, blah online and elsewhere on these topics. Rome was not built in a day. You will not flourish in a day. Flourishing is an ongoing process that begins at conception and ends when you die.
1. Self Improvement
For self-improvement, common advice is to know yourself, and work on yourself,
Know Yourself:
Self-awareness is the foundation of self-realization. Are you a palm tree, an oak, a cactus, a sunflower, aloe vera? Knowing yourself will help you identify the most suitable environment and the fundamental needs for your flourishing. Self-awareness is a continuous assessment process through your lifetime. Life is dynamic and so are you and your environment. You adapt and change like every other living creature on Earth.
Knowing yourself includes understanding your mental programming. Living organisms are organic computers processing environmental input into output. Each cell operates as an information processor. You are the result of the aggregate processing by the approximately 37 trillion cells in your body. Yes, you are already a trillionaire.
Knowing yourself includes understanding your emotions beginning with recognizing the master emotion from which all others derive. The master emotion is fear. All emotions derive from pain or pain relief. Emotions come first and thoughts and rationalizations follow. You are afraid of pain and attracted to pain relief. Everything that you do (or don't) is predicated on the conscious and unconscious pain / pain relief mechanism that controls all living creatures on Earth. We are all the heirs and heiresses of pain. Life is pain. Intelligent life is pain management.
Work on Yourself.
Spoiler alert. There's no magic in life. It's all work. Everything in this universe is energy, which is the capacity to do work. Everything that existed, what exists, and what will exist is a product of work. You are the product of nature at work. Learn more about your nature so that you can work with nature to improve yourself. Again, there's no magic, only work. Below some simple techniques on the blah, blah, blah motivational front. Adapt whatever you like; disregard the rest.
Identify a Purposeful Passion. To make work enjoyable, identify a purpose or set of purposes that you are passionate about. Working on your passion or on what fancies your dopamine the most (i.e. what motivates you the most) will "magically" turn work into play. The hard and daily work that is required to flourish in life will not feel like work for you; it will feel as pure joy.
Keep it Simple and Avoid Perfectionism. Realize that perfection is an illusion. Perfection exists only in human imagination. No wonder that God is perfect. In reality, nothing in this universe is perfect. Things are what they are. Perfection or lack thereof is a human opinion, a judgement of the human mind. Simply choose a path and take one step after the next. Keep it simple and enjoyable along the way.
Set Standards (Not Goals) and Develop Mini Habits: Instead of goals, which are outcome oriented, establish process-oriented minimum standards for your daily life. Your flourishing will be the aggregate result of all your daily mini habits. Identify the processes that tend to lead to the kind of flourishing that you seek. Make those processes your daily habits. Regularly assess your progress and adjust your micro habits as needed.
Learn continuously: Embrace continuous lifelong learning and the pursuit of knowledge. This can involve formal education, learning new skills, or simply staying curious about the world around you. Be honest about your strengths and weaknesses. Cultivate your strengths and work on improving your weaknesses.
Be Resilient and Grateful: Life’s challenges are inevitable, but developing resilience can help you navigate them. Building mental and emotional strength through practices like mindfulness, cognitive behavioral techniques, or supportive relationships can foster resilience. Embracing challenges with gratitude is the ultimate happiness hack. Once you master the art of being grateful for absolutely everything in your life, both the "good" (convenient or pleasant) and the "bad" (inconvenient or painful), you have access to unlimited happiness and joy.
Prioritize Safety and Health: Safety first, Health second. Physical health is closely linked to mental well-being. Regular exercise, a balanced diet, sufficient sleep, and managing stress are crucial for maintaining energy and focus. Pay attention to your mental health, which is 100% physical health. All mental processes are physical processes at tiny nanoscales inside your brain.
Build Relationships and Give Back Creatively. Begin with developing the kindest friendship possible with yourself. Be kind to yourself. Be your own best friend. Then treat others as well as you treat yourself. Be as kind to others as you are to yourself. Contribute to something larger than yourself, whether through work or volunteering. Engaging in creative activities like writing, art, music, or other forms of expression can help you explore and communicate your inner world to the rest of the world. Being yourself and sharing your creations will be your biggest and most rewarding contribution to the world.
Conclusion:
Flourishing requires knowing yourself and working hard to continuously improve yourself. Everything requires work, work, work. There is no magic in life other than working on your passion so that working feels like playing. Learn what procedures and processes tend to lead to the results you seek. Make those processes your daily habits and part of your daily standards. Be your best friend and share your frienship with other. Keep it simple and keep learning. Take one step after the next until the day you die and forever rest.
www.creatix.one
Comments
Post a Comment