PURPOSE? What Is Life For?
I believe the purpose of every life is to live in peace, experience happiness, live well, and live as long as possible.
PURPOSE?
PURPOSE? What Is Life For?
I believe the purpose of every life is to live in peace, experience happiness, live well, and live as long as possible. I think of these as four parts of the same purpose: Peace, Happiness, Quality of Life, and Longevity. That is my understanding of what life is for.
In my previous post, I said that having a purpose is not necessary, but advisable. I still think so. A person can live well without ever stopping to define the purpose of life. Someone may take care of their health, enjoy the company of others, and find peace in an ordinary day without calling any of it a purpose. Giving it a name helps me pay attention to how I am living.
I see peace in the ability to let a disagreement end when the conversation ends. Sometimes there is more to say, and peace may require me to go back and say it. At other times, I am simply carrying the argument around in my head. I am learning to tell the difference.
I see happiness in the satisfaction of finishing something I set out to do, and also in an unhurried conversation or the first cup of tea in the morning. If I keep waiting for the next thing to go right before I allow myself to be happy, I can miss much of what is already good in the day.
Quality of life shows up in how I live on an ordinary Tuesday. Do I have the energy to do what matters to me? Can I give my attention to the person in front of me? Is there room in my day for work, learning, rest, and the people I care about? Longevity gives me more days in which to do these things. How long I live is partly beyond my control, but how I care for myself today is something I can act on.
These four parts of life do not always pull in the same direction. I may give up a little peace to have a conversation that needs to happen. I may stay up late to finish work that matters to me. The question is whether the choice makes sense on this occasion, and what it will do to my life if I keep making it.
I believe this purpose is common to every life. How each of us lives it will differ. For me, the test is in the way I spend my days: do my choices help me live in peace, find happiness, live well, and give myself a chance to keep doing so for as long as possible?
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