What is the Purpose and Meaning of my Life?

One of the first exploratory questions we attempt to grasp in our journey to developing self-awareness and our positional context to the world at-large, of pre-historical and historical civilisations and the unknown fog of the what the future holds for us, is this: What is the purpose and meaning of my life?

Hello, I’m Jerry Selvaseelan and welcome to my YouTube channel. If these are the sort of topics which interests you, do consider subscribing for notifications of new content.

Let’s look at 3 points which may help throw a light onto this somewhat disturbing thought.

Point 1. How will finding it make your life any different?

You may say, "of course it will change many things, it could possibly influence how I see life and what decisions I make everyday!". Logically speaking, the next question to yourself would be, "If those changes to your life choices would be?positive, perhaps even decluttering your priorities and focusing on very few things that matter and are of value, what is stopping you from making that change now...today?" In other words, are you using the lack of a prescribed and assigned purpose for your life to be merely an excuse for you to be wasteful of the few decades you have upon this earth?

Point 2. Doctrines, faith and its certainty about the uncertain.?

Various spiritual or mystical schools of thought may insist on a divine purpose given to each of us on birth. It could be about a divinely appointed plan for each of our lives, or that how good we are in this life will determine what entity we come back as in another life. If we accept a divinely designed purpose and plan for each of our lives, we need to reconcile how that applies to babies who are either born profoundly disabled or struck with terminal cancer in their very first months of life? Others may insist there is zero purpose in this life and no after-life, and that we will be not be present in any form after death. But there is no evidence that there is no afterlife also isn’t it? The evidence of proof to establish either of assertions on this entire spectrum of thoughts are based mostly on anecdotal, experiential or authority-dependant sources, with variance being the common denominator and evidence being the common absentee.

One thing we need to settle ourselves with is the fact that even if we embrace any of these views, no one can be completely certain regarding these uncertainties.

Point 3. How about you create your purpose and meaning for yourself?

One thing we can be certain of in this life is this: People experience seemingly random suffering, injustice, brokenness, poverty, sickness, unexpected loss or?bereavement. So what if we build our purpose upon helping this certainty instead in any small way possible? Roy T. Bennett once wrote, “Learn to light a candle in the darkest moments of someone’s life. Be the light that helps others see; it is what gives life its deepest significance.” So what if you focus your time now on finding your specific skill or talent which could make a difference in someone else's life? And what if you spend your future giving it away? One thing will then be certain, you will find you have created a meaning and a purpose for your life that is actually worthwhile.

And perhaps that is the best we can do, with what we have for now.

-Jerry Selvaseelan.

LogicalRetreat Limited, 2022.