Friday, February 03, 2012

First the what and then the how of it

This is a bit of a peculiar post and I will try my best to put it all into the proper context.
Typically, from my experience anyway, we are creatures that like to follow a certain process. It's the cause and effect thing.  First see the goal, then figure out how to get there. That sums it up nicely. First understand what it is you want to achieve, then figure out how to achieve it.

This isn't just modern day motivational speaking

This kind of thing goes for every single thing we do/are.

I am hungry - I go searching for food
I am tired - I find a place to sleep
I am bored - I find something to do
I want a home - I build one or get a job then buy one
I don't want to be eaten - I run from the lion

See what I mean? It's a causal chain - And it is a fundamental part of our everyday life. I believe it is a fundamental part of the everything.

So.....
This leads me to the point of this post.

What is the purpose for all this? What is the reason why I am here? What the the thing I am supposed to be achieving?

If I knew that the second half of the causal chain would be easy. I would be able to take the actions needed to move me toward that goal. Even if the action was something as nonaction as meditating on the top of a mountian in Tibet.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Will, hi, I'm new to your site. Just found it while searching for a meaningful blog to participate in. As I'm new, forgive my lack of knowledge about you as I respond to your post.

As someone who has long struggled with these ideas myself, I can say with utter conviction that looking "outside yourself" for THE ANSWER yields little to no satisfactory productivity. But, you're no doubt thinking (and you're right), if you don't have any idea what to look for then you have to search until you find something that resonates as the starting point of your "path of action". I call those points my "ah hah" moments.

I can only assume that you are deeply driven to find a purpose because you are convinced you must have one. For what it's worth, what has helped me the most with these questions has been to first understand myself and what drives me. So, cause and effect: I am driven to find my purpose-why do I think/feel I have one? I need to know the reason I am here-why am I convinced there is one? What am I supposed to be achieving-why do I have be achieving something beyond my daily routine?

You say that you first understand what you want to achieve and then figure out how to achieve it but maybe consider why you feel the urge to achieve "it" and why you feel there's an "it" to be achieved. If you look deep into your drives/motivations and understand what makes you tick then you may (as I did) get clearer perspectives on the answers. That being said, short of being visited by an otherworldly being and flat out being told your purpose and destiny, you won't likely ever have a concrete answer to these questions. BUT! That doesn't mean you don't get guidance. Once I understood myself-which, by the way, took a long time and serious self questioning, observation of patterns, introspection, meditations of sorts, etc but was highly rewarding and fun as heck every step of the way-I began to see anwers EVERYWHERE. It's only a matter of getting to the point where you can see them. Teaching yourself the language, so to speak.

Anonymous said...

The meaning of life is broken and forever in a tangled web of infinite questions..somewhere along the way money became the root of all evil..and I am. Tired of it..I know the world is tired of it..We all need to come together and stop hating on eachother for all the wrong reasons..We all started from nothing..like human beings in general..i think religion is the root of all evil for example..it created the word evil..and it allows people to have a placebo. Or a easy way out.. And that's beautiful but people need to find happiness with theirselves...I'm venting and had a realizition of sudden truth..I want to help the world out..but have no idea how to...any good ideas?..we are intelligent as Ghandi right now..we came up with great plans for the bigger picture..but it envolves a lot of coming together and its all about the youth and what they are taught..and why they/we are taught all the same curriculum...I'm venting a little and for that readers I appologise..but why on earth? Do we have to learn history? And why do they expect the usa to believe the crap they fill our head
s with...george washington? First president? Wooden teeth cut down a cherry chair and
crossed a delaware river...just useless information..and the technology explosion? Somethings going on that they aren't telling us..like something I'm affraid to even get into on here..anyway..hope you use your knowledge of the meaning of life to better the world.

Anonymous said...

The assumption is teleological. It is a worldview that has been with us for about 1600 years. It is based on a linear view of history. Now, assume that you are beyond the causal events. Examine the difference between transcendence and immanence. In the realm of immanence where the concrete takes place, one has to obey the regular laws, "if this, then that", but in the other realm, that is not the case. So, what does that have to do with your purpose? The answer is quite simple.

Michael Riddell said...

This is a question we live our lives trying to find the answer to, mate. I believe I've found my own purpose, but I have to believe it is different for everyone.