ON HAVING PURPOSE IN LIFE
What does it mean to have a purpose?
When you have purpose your body/mind complex becomes a temple, a place of rest and peace even amid a storm, as it is a solace from which all actions flow forth. To have purpose is the generic and true essential quality of what it means to be a human being. In addition, there are well-documented effects of having a purpose. Those people with purpose tend to live longer and show evidence of greater psychological and physiological health. These findings are not accounted for by demographics (race, sex, age or socioeconomic status).
What is purpose?
There are several dimensions to consider in answering that question.
There needs to be the development of a central, self-organizing focus that varies in scope, depth, and quality. This focus is intimately connected to ones deepest values and is sometimes referred to as a “calling”.
Purpose in relation to beneficial outcomes is not the focus of this sharing, nor will the ramifications or implications of the absence of purpose be addressed here.One dimensional consideration to the creation of purpose is to question: how does a purpose transcend ones personal life and goals. Many themes can be considered: personal, physical, educational, family, lifestyle, relationships, occupation, material, leisure, and success. Purpose is not restricted to self or other directed aims.
The definition of purpose in its essence can be treated differently than its content, i.e., qualitative components. A purpose that transcends self-preservation and advancement has multi-dimensional implications and effects on both the purpose activator and the world around them. For example, a person with a transcendent purpose such as serving to unite with a Transcendent Permanent Reality tends to create more efforts into aligned goal pursuits and may well extract greater fulfillment than individuals with more limited or self-oriented purposes. This is not to negate the intrinsic virtues of the self-oriented purpose such as accepting one's authentic self and being the best it has to offer.
The qualities of a real purpose, on any level of consideration, is that it has a conscious clarity and articulation and that it serves as a central point of focus in life. The nature of these purposes becomes a central and pre-eminent theme in the person's life and identity. This real purpose orchestrates the life and lifestyle of the individual as well. Real purpose becomes a life aim and manifests in long-term valuation and commitment. The depth and scope of a real purpose is significantly tied to the degree to which it is in conscious awareness and exists as a clear and practical way of being in day-to-day life. This central, life goal is made real by its day-to-day self-orchestrating way of living in the world.
A correlated concept and life-defining dimension has to do with the sense of meaning by which the life is occupied. Does the work, life, and relationships have an intrinsic meaning and value? The answer may be yes, but it still does not have the added dimension of focus on purpose in life. Deriving meaning and seeing meaning in a work or life experience(s) may well be a stop-along-the-way to purpose. In either case, both experiences are very valuable in the life of a human being. What is distinguishable and qualitatively so, is that purpose is a broader and more essence-driven reality than having a goal(s) in life. It seems that purpose is the catalyst, optimally speaking, in the creation and pursuit of goals in life.
It may be helpful to consider such ideas in a self-directed relaxed and meditative state. Breathing rhythmically and meditating on your most real authentic and deepest self. Think of yourself as Being independent of your body, although inhabiting it, but being able to be free of it at will yet able to direct it at will to serve your most authentic, meaning-filled purpose for being alive. Ask, “why am I here, alive on this planet in this time and space”. You can find the most meaningful and fulfilling answers if you persist.