Sometimes life gives you lemons and the only choice you have is to make lemonade. Or to put them on the ground and run away, far away. But I’ve decided that I can play this time, or make lemonade so to speak.
I was talking with a good friend the other day before school was officially over -- can we take a moment to appreciate that it is FINALLY summer vacation. HOORAY!!!!
And like all good conversations, this one made me think. Actually, it made me think so much that I asked for time to process before answering. Being the wonderful person that he is, I was granted time to think. But I’m not one to make empty promises and I promised to answer these questions.
In the habit of being a writer, I decided that my thoughts come more naturally when I write as I think. So after two journal entries and a sloppy attempt at a blog post, I’m trying again.
What is the purpose of human existence…?
Where does that question even come from. Being the negative/pessimistic person that I can be, I really wanted to say that we don’t have a purpose. We are here because that is what happened. I don’t know. That’s actually the truth, I don’t know.
I don’t know why we are here. I don’t know how we got here. And honestly I believe in the saying “ignorance is bliss.” Usually I have a hard time not knowing something, but this really doesn’t bother me. I guess because it is not usually something that I focus my thoughts on.
Honestly, I’m not that negative or pessimistic. I just wasn’t sure how to answer or even that I wanted to answer at first.
But I was asked the question and I feel obliged to answer. Why are we here? What is the purpose of man? Time to get deep I suppose.
Now we’ve discussed the fact that I’m not a religious, but instead a spiritual person. I’ve tried to be religious (believing in different higher powers) but it just doesn’t work for me. A while back I read a really great blog post about not believing in God and how that makes people perceive you (forget where I read it or I’d share the link). But I think those of us who don’t believe in a God sometimes get a bad rep that isn’t deserved. We are still good people and some people who believe in God aren’t so great. I think that’s a character thing and it has nothing to do with your religious beliefs.
This is where it gets a little tricky though. I do believe in something bigger and more important than ourselves; it is just not something that I fully comprehend.
This is where it gets a little tricky though. I do believe in something bigger and more important than ourselves; it is just not something that I fully comprehend.
Why are we here?
To understand my take on this, it helps if I explain some things first. A few summers ago I fell in love with The Four Agreements and the study of Buddhism. I became obsessed with the idea of our souls and their purpose. So obviously when I think about why mankind exists, my answers are rooted in that.
*Side note: If you wanna read more about The Four Agreements, I wrote a quick blog post on them a while ago. I’m gonna revisit that topic in a few weeks--trying to put my thoughts together still.
I believe that each individual is here for his/her own purpose. I believe in self-realization and enlightenment. Our souls are here to reach enlightenment. Now enlightenment is a big term that can mean a multitude of different things to different people. But let’s consider it this way, enlightenment comes from the quest for freedom and understanding. The opposite of enlightenment is endarkenment which is the belief that we are limited, inadequate, and/or incomplete. So in order to reach enlightenment, we must reach a level of freedom from not only material things, ideals, and other people, but from ourselves as well. In order to reach this, we must meet the Four Agreements.
I believe that each individual is here for his/her own purpose. I believe in self-realization and enlightenment. Our souls are here to reach enlightenment. Now enlightenment is a big term that can mean a multitude of different things to different people. But let’s consider it this way, enlightenment comes from the quest for freedom and understanding. The opposite of enlightenment is endarkenment which is the belief that we are limited, inadequate, and/or incomplete. So in order to reach enlightenment, we must reach a level of freedom from not only material things, ideals, and other people, but from ourselves as well. In order to reach this, we must meet the Four Agreements.
“Everything we do is based on agreements we have made – agreements with ourselves, with other people, with God, with life. But the most important agreements are the ones we make with ourselves. In these agreements we tell ourselves who we are, how to behave, what is possible, what is impossible. One single agreement is not such a problem, but we have many agreements that come from fear, deplete our energy, and diminish our self-worth.”
My other take on this is that we are all here to find love and to learn to accept love. Once ya do that, you're golden. Not sure if that really answers the question though!
I’m not sure that I even answered the question… but I feel better having thought it through and writing something down. I’m not sure whether I feel like I was writing a college essay that I clearly don’t have the answer for or if I was writing an answer to an interview question. But that’s what I’ve got for ya. Please share your thoughts so I have some other opinions (etc) to work with!
2 thoughts
Since we are soul sistas for life I'm glad that you believe in our souls! Can't wait to spend forever being your bestie. Also I adore you for posting this one because I know you didn't think it would be well received. Love your bravery xoxoxxo
ReplyDeleteI was interested to see where you went with that question. From other posts and comments, I've gathered that you aren't a religious person and to each his own I'm not judging. I just know that my answer would have been something different. I think we are here to find glory and to serve God, but like you said I really don't know. I am still trying to figure it out myself. Your answer was written very eloquently though and you deserve some major points for posting it for all to see. Sometimes we are our harshest critics. I think you'll learn to see that. People aren't going to hate you for your answer, they are going to commend you on your honesty.
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