For the overwhelming majority of my adult life, particularly early on, I wandered more or less aimlessly, it would seem, with almost no discernible purpose. This, of course, is not to say that I indeed had no purpose: I just, at that point anyway, did not perceive it as such. Even after more than 50 trips around the sun, on this go-round anyway, I'm still not able to give much elucidation on the subject! Which brings up the question at hand: "Is it necessary to have a purpose in Life?" Another question that might well be asked is, "is 'purpose' simply a man-made construct, like Time?"
According to Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary, a purpose is 'something set up as an object or end to be attained'. Now, not to be overly sarcastic, but if that doesn't say 'man-made': I don't know what does. Just because it IS man-made, however, does NOT mean that it's wrong, or even a bad idea; having purpose, or an end-goal is normally thought of as a good thing, right?! It IS a good thing to have purpose, or intentions for any good one does, or wishes to do, in this Life. On the other hand, though; it is NOT a good idea if one intends, selfishly, to do whatever she or he wishes, no matter the consequences to others. This is most often referred to as 'evil'. In other words, then, 'man-made' doesn't mean that we should disregard or flout something; 'Time' for instance. Time, yes, is merely a conception of humanity, but, as we live in a world full of humanity; "when in Rome.........", or something like that........... Purpose, on the other hand, being a simple conception as well, is a bit easier to dismiss, although maybe more as a noun than a verb. To not have a ( stated ) purpose in life is not the end of the world, although in the hustling, bustling busyness of today's world, some sort of purpose is a necessity if one wants to get anywhere in what some have called The Dream of the Planet.
When a person is consumed by their Purpose, they are often referred to as being 'driven'. Now, again, in the Day & Age in which we live, it has become pretty much a necessity, not only to be able to state, or elucidate ones purpose, but to be able to focus on that end-goal until it is achieved; after that, of course, it is usually obligatory to move on to the next one. Again, too, this is not necessarily either good or bad, depending on the intentions of the person.
Being 'driven' brings up questions as well: 'What are you driven by?" "Why are you 'driven' by it?" This is not to say either, that being 'driven' itself is necessarily a bad thing. One may feel 'driven' in order to take care of their wife, kids, etc., although, even there, we may come face to face with some sort of attachment issues. If one is 'driven', however, just to get ahead ( at ALL costs ), to 'keep up with the Joneses' or some other purely selfish reason, then this person may need to take a look at their life & realize that their issues are more than skin-deep.
On the other hand, we must consider what it really means to be 'driven'! To be driven is to be controlled by, either the desire or perceived need to do whatever one can to achieve their end-goal. Humanly speaking, this isn't necessarily a bad thing; in fact, in this day & age, it is normally thought of as a good thing. However, as More than human, we cannot allow ourselves to be controlled by our lower emotions, such as need or desire, both of which can be defined, more or less, as 'lust'!
The issue at hand then, it would seem, is 'Control'! On the surface, control is a good thing, right?! "Control yourself!' is a big one. Being in control of your emotions ( holding it in? ) is normally thought of to be a good thing. "Get ahold of yourself, man" comes to mind. This is not to say that control is necessarily a bad thing either. Again, in this day & age especially, being in control of your lower emotions is a good idea. For instance, if one of these lower emotions prompts you to do something that is inadvisable, for whatever reason, it is probably best to rein in that lower emotion, whatever it is. On the other hand, though: "Religion," they say, "was invented to control the masses." Sometimes, it would seem, the masses MUST be controlled. The problem, though, is that the masses were never MEANT to be controlled; the masses, individually speaking, are meant to control themselves. Saying that "religion was invented to control the masses" usually means, not simply trying to keep the masses under control, or acting correctly, but propagating a particular way of acting, namely their own. This again, is not necessarily a bad thing, if it is a good religion, but too often, those in power use their power selfishly, to their own selfish ends, rather than for the good of all concerned. Unfortunately, in such cases, these abuses of power usually give the religion itself a bad name ( if it doesn't already have one ). On the other hand, if ones religion helps him or her to control their own urges, this is a good religion, though it be wrongly applied sometimes. In Essence, Self Control, not Organized Religion, is the Answer we seek!
To get back to our Purpose here, being Driven is not in itself a bad thing. The issue is what one is driven to do & why one is driven to do it. If, as in many cases, one is driven by the norms of society, then that one must examine their own heart, as to whether they're following their heart or simply obeying the dictates of Society.
Again & finally, it is good to have purpose in your life. Is it necessary to have a definable purpose, a stated purpose? My readers must answer this question for themselves, but in my opinion, being able to 'state your purpose' is overrated. This may be semantics, but 'intention' is better than 'purpose'! My intention, for all of this thing we call Life, is to simply BE. "Is that the same as 'Purpose'?" Again; "You be the judge!" In my opinion though, 'intention' speaks more to our Will, our Power, whereas 'purpose' has more a connotation, at least in popular ( religious ) use of something coming from outside ourselves, as in 'God', 'Allah', etc. So, in conclusion; does it really matter if one cannot state what his or her purpose in life is? No, not really, though there is nothing wrong, either, with being able to state ones purpose. In my opinion, it is better to state ones intentions, but hey, maybe that's just me: I AM rather semantical after all!
Namaste' & Blessed Be!
Sage Charles
No comments:
Post a Comment