Why am I here? Why do I exist?
Those questions evoke a mess of philosophies and religions, a giant web of wagging fingers and unprovable conclusions. Juxtapose that against the seeming insignificance of my extremely limited perspective in a possibly infinite breadth of space-time, and it seems I am able–until that (probably) unresolvable ambiguity is finally resolved–able to define my own purpose and meaning.
Perhaps that ambiguity is by design. Perhaps I am meant to decide for myself.
There’s an old question or perhaps a statement that I’ve always remembered. All of the world’s major religions can point to a tomb or other burial place of their faith’s founder. Except one. And this coming weekend, we will observe his death, burial, resurrection and empty tomb 😎
I do believe the ambiguity is by design, because we will during the course of our lives change and evolve as we discover more about ourselves and the world we inhabit. Sometimes the hard part is embracing this change, instead clinging on to a world and a view of ourselves that no longer exists.
Yes, the change can evoke very strong emotional reactions. I definitely think embracing it is for the best.
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One man in around 8 billion, on one planet in a similar number (only counting those with some form of higher life). Yeah – on that scale it’s hard to see how our choices make any ‘cosmic’ difference. But perhaps every other living thing we meet is a cosmos in miniature, and on that scale we do make a difference. Then multiply that by 64 billion, billion and suddenly it seems to me that the choices of each of us do matter, because they ripple out across many other lives. Do we need ‘proof’ that our choices matter? Not really: we can see that for ourselves. To know ‘why’ we exist – why life exists: that’s surely a bigger question. And whether we want to answer it is another. Because if one thing’s clear, it’s that we don’t _need_ to answer either question. It’s enough, I suggest, to just “Be excellent to one another,” and let destiny take care of itself.
Our choices matter. If I had not met and married my husband, five people would not exist: my 2 children and 3 grandchildren.
Who knows who would have existed instead?
I do know, because of a wonderful email I received last year, that I made a difference to at least 1 young person. She said that as her form tutor I had seen something in a ‘mouthy teenager’, as she put it. She is now a science teacher in her own right. Maybe that’s why I exist.
I love that you frame it that way! That email from your former student sounds incredibly gratifying. Here in the States (you’re from the UK, if I remember correctly), being a teacher is a thankless job. I’m not sure if it’s the same over there, but I’m sure it’s hard simply by virtue of the fact that you’re dealing with youngsters who are going through tumultuous experiences. It warms my heart that both you and your student connected over the long term and experienced something uplifting. Great work! You deserve that validation!
Yes, I’m from the UK. I retired from teaching a long time ago, but since then, the job has become much worse. I was listening to a report on the radio saying that 20% of teachers had been hit by pupils this year. And parents aren’t any better, either.
I love your site. Thank you for being so honest about your life and experience. I a writer finally coming out of hiding and writing about my life experience, I an so honored to have such a powerful experienced role model like you to help me see how it can be done.
Heh, one of the reasons I love physics is the amount of times it makes me question this. I exist for the Universe to know itself. I exist to question everything, including my own existence.
Absolutely! I like to tell my self I exist to experience, which from a nondual viewpoint is impossible–there is no separation/duality, so it can’t experience things like progress, motion, and choice, because it can’t go anywhere, it can’t become anything, and it can’t choose between things, it is everything everywhere all at once. Through our limitations, we allow it to be unlimited
It seems that you have thought yourself into a tight knot.
I can tell you that once I recognized my insignificance in the big picture, everything became relative. It made perfect sense. My purpose is me. That’s it. Nothing more. Just another tiny grain of sand in the vast universe. And that’s OK. The world needs sand.
I’m here because my mom and dad decided to have sex without protection. Why do I exist or what is my purpose – who knows? I just live my life in the way that is most satisfying.
Excellent point. Unusual to find this kind of question, makes me feel a little less alone.
Your question/conclusion is a bit paradoxical. “Meant to decide for myself”. “Meant to” implies that your purpose (to decide) is already decided for you. Which means any decision you draw is ceremonial.
I think we CAN/MAY decide for ourself, whether we are meant to or not, and so choose our own purpose. And that’s a good enough reason for me to make any decisions whatsoever.
Looking forward to seeing more of your posts!
Good point! A more personalized endorsement of leveraging the power inherent in choice. I like it!
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Perhaps the purpose and/or meaning of life lies in the journey we take and the actions and adventures we take.
You are here: to be.
If you think about it at a base level, we are sentient meat sacks. Who knows why or how. Find and be joy where and when you can; and play nice with the other kids. ❤
If I have to be here, I’m going to do something. Since no one told me what to do, so I assigned myself the task of annoying people. That’s what the cosmos gets for not making sure I was properly employed and supervised.
Kent Wayne 
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