Finding Your Purpose
One may argue that a purpose and a goal are the same, but I disagree. A goal is a WANT that we place in the future, and set forth a plan to accomplish it. A purpose is a direction that you feel compelled to move in, like a direction on a compass. One may not quite know where this “purpose” came from, but the person feels that this is their river, their reality, and they do not suffer while they pursue this purpose.
A purpose, in an animal like a bird, is analogous to the birds’ magnetic instincts which guide them on their long migrations. They aren’t necessarily setting a goal or a want, but rather, they feel compelled, or driven, to fly in a specific direction. This migratory instinct feels like it is predetermined, and it essentially is, similar to how humans’ purposes feel like they are pre-determined.
Goals, on the other hand, are largely a byproduct of a hungry ego. The ego feeds itself by accomplishing goals. As more goals are achieved, the ego grows larger, and more powerful. Eventually, the person becomes overtaken by his ego, resembling a narcissistic power-hungry person, rather than a balanced human with sympathy, empathy, and compassion. Once the ego has achieved this status, it blurs and distorts reality to fit its narrative. Imagine a narcissist who refuses to acknowledge that he is ever wrong. Imagine a conspiracy theorist who refuses to acknowledge that we landed on the moon. As the ego grows, so does the blurring between reality and fiction, preventing the human within from learning and growing.
Recognizing the distinction between one’s purpose and the goals of one’s ego is a skill that all humans possess at birth. It does not require intelligence, but it is aided with intelligence. It does not require perfect senses, but it is aided with enhanced ones. It does not require a perfect physical form, but it is aided with a strong and healthy one. Detecting reality is a skill that must be practiced, and it will improve over time. Eventually, one may distinguish what is reality, and what is NOT reality, or a distortion of reality. One may begin to see egos, and how they distort reality in order to achieve their goals, growing larger and stronger in the process.
The tricky part for children is that in the beginning, the parents want to protect the children from developing this ego. As children mature, however, the parents’ egos (especially the fathers’) no longer serves to protect the child, but instead twists and forces the child to follow their life in accordance with the parents’ viewpoints, in order to validate the parents’ egos. This is why children who continue to follow their parents’ advice once they are adults tend to suffer. They suffer because they are resisting their OWN reality. Rather, they are trying to live the reality of their parents’ (usually their father’s) egos. This is very painful for a child becoming an adult. For the child, now an adult, must push away from his parents in order to find his true path. This is likely why Native Americans have a “spirit quest”. The spirit quest is undertaken when a boy becomes a man. The purpose is to shed himself of the goals and desires of his parents, shed his ego, and discover his true purpose in life. The new identity that he creates is in the form of an animal, and becomes his new name: Bearfoot, or Eagleye etc. This new name helps others to identify who he is and what his true purpose is.
One’s true purpose is a reflection of the path that produces the least amount of suffering for that individual, and is not a reflection of one’s wants. Yes, fundamentally we want to not suffer. But wanting to not suffer, is actually wanting to be in line with reality, or the river. It is wanting to be in line with GOD. It is wanting to be in line with the fundamental nature of reality. It is wanting to be in harmony with the cosmos. This is the only want, but it is a negative. It is through the avoidance of suffering that we find ourselves in the river. It is a circle.
Resisting reality leads to suffering. Suffering leads to more suffering. The only way to end that cycle is to embrace reality. This ends the cycle of suffering. One embraces reality by shedding one’s ego, so that the person can accurately see reality without the distorting nature of a large ego. Shedding the ego takes time, and work, but it is a purpose that I believe all humans have somewhere deep inside them that has woven itself into our genetic code. This purpose wants us to be free from suffering, because “not suffering” is the baseline for living creatures.
Living creatures are the epitome of adaptability and survival because they adapt to what reality is. That is what evolution is: a recognition of reality, and an acceptance of reality. It is why evolution reduces suffering. When an organism no longer has the proper physical attributes to survive, its genetic material ceases to be transmitted. If it was transmitted, the organisms succeeding it would also fail to survive, and this would lead to more death. Needless death without learning or improvement is suffering. These creatures, ill-equipped to cope with reality, would not realize why they were suffering, but they would suffer. For example, a ram born with a micropenis would not be able to have sex, and the multiple failed attempts at coitus would result in suffering for that ram. Evolution tries to minimize this suffering organically, by eliminating those genes that are not beneficial to survival, thereby decreasing suffering.
To summarize, our purpose is our true direction in life that we all have, buried deep beneath our ego. It is not a want, but rather an instinctual direction that guides our actions. Our egos distort reality, and prevent the true nature of reality from being fully understood. Once we shed our egos, we can more accurately detect reality, and find harmony with our true purpose. By following our purpose, we are aligned with reality, we are in the “river”, and we are following our true nature. This path will lead to the least amount of suffering, and will benefit not only ourselves, but all living creatures in the future. What seems like an abstract circuitous path may become the best chance for human survival.
Shed your ego, find your compass, and follow your purpose. I’ll meet you at the end.
