Ever since mankind has walked planet earth we have been questioning our existence. All any human being wants to feel is that he or she has a purpose and that this life on earth is of meaning. The funny thing is that the more we ponder the reasons why we are here and compare ourselves in terms of our universe and galaxies well beyond our comprehension, the more we can turn our minds into a swirling tornado of doubt, helplessness, and anxiety.
Have you ever caught yourself sitting alone perhaps looking up at the blue sky watching the clouds go by or staring at the ocean while listening to the waves and asked yourself: Why am I here?
I would be willing to bet that most of us who have thought about the true meaning of life and have had thoughts like these cross our minds at some point. However, when we solely focus on the question of “Why?” we put ourselves in a situation that is simply out of our control. Because the bottom line is that nobody truly knows with 100 percent certainly why we are here and what our sole purpose is. Those of us who believe in the afterlife find our purpose in living a life suitable for eternity. Christians believe that by living a life for Jesus, one will earn the privilege of living in eternal paradise when their time on earth is finished. Living a life for Jesus means excepting him into your heart and prioritizing faith and righteousness above the Temptations of worldly successes and pleasures.
However, even for those who believe in the afterlife at the end of the day it still comes down to faith rather than 100% certainty. Faith in knowing that our purpose on this earth is one far beyond our comprehension. That’s where the problem lies with most people in my opinion. They want 100% security and 100% certainty in terms of their life’s purpose and future. However, those of us who think rationally understand that such wishes will never be a possibility. Nothing is ever 100% certain. So if that is truly the case, shouldn’t we be taking a different approach to this whole meaning of life topic?
Instead of asking “Why?” we need to start acknowledging that we are. The bottom line is, we can ask and search for reasons for why we live on planet earth and why there are millions of galaxies far beyond our comprehension. But at the end of the day, it truly doesn’t matter because we will never have an answer to why we were here. Nonetheless, by acknowledging that we are here, we can then work to create our purpose without waiting for it to fall in our lap.
In my experiences, I’ve come across many people including myself at times who simply were unaware of their present existence. Not that they were unaware that they were alive, but they were unconscious to the concept of actually living. Yes there is a difference. They were so focused on looking for facts and answers that they forget the fact that they are here! The ability to live in the moment and appreciate the present has become a difficult task for a large portion of our society. This is because we are always focused on what the future will bring rather than what the moment is.
So the next time you find yourself pondering life’s meaning, your existence, and purpose, instead of questioning it, try to acknowledge that you are it. And always keep in mind that we will never truly know why we are here, but we can acknowledge what is and create our purpose from this acknowledgment.
Swiss-Army Leadership 