Purpose, Mission, Crusade, Acceptance

We are life aware of itself. Humans have the ability to think and to reason. We think in terms of concepts and abstractions. This sets us apart from the rest of the animal kingdom.

However, our big brains can bring us great grief. This awareness of ourselves leads us to question our “purpose” here on this planet, which creates anxiety and uncertainty. We feel “out of place” in the Universe. Consequently, we don’t feel a connection to the rest of the world, which can lead to destructive behaviour. We often have no respect or compassion for other beings or for our environment. 

Who are we? Why are we here? There must be a reason for all this.  

A blogger once asked Can anyone tell me the meaning of life? My response was as follows:

There’s no need to look for any “purpose” beyond being. The “meaning of life” is contained in the here and now. No questions are needed.

We think about the past and future. But what are the past and future beyond mental concepts? The past and the future are not the manifest here and now. We act to situations as they arise. But we should be aware that “imagining an outcome” and “looking back on a choice” are present moment activities.

We also have to ask ourselves “who” we are outside of God (the Whole, the One). “He” didn’t create “us”. Everything is of the same one Realization.

But people always feel they need to have some purpose. They feel as if life isn’t worth living unless they can express this purpose. 

From purpose, to mission, to crusade, we march along in hopes of making the world a better place; a place more suited to our vision of what it should be. Rather, we should see the world as it is; and silently step away from crusade, from mission, to a purpose of acceptance.

I am not saying that we shouldn’t be active and right what we perceive to be wrong. 

From an old blog entry of mine:

An iron-handed government is toppled. A war ends. Rights are granted to an oppressed minority. These are results that have been gained through social activism. But, a new despot lurks in the shadows, and a new war is brewing over some idiotic cause. Prejudice, fear and hatred toward others continues.

Society is just another name for the ego-driven populace. So-called social change does nothing to drive the ego illusion from our collective minds: no real change takes place at all. Old problems are replaced by new ones.

No demonstration, march, social protest, or fight is going to bring about peace on this planet. Yes, we can defeat a Hitler by standing up and giving him a collective and deserving punch in the nose. But a new bully will inevitably appear somewhere and a new crisis begins. The up and down drama of life goes on.

I’m not advocating passivity nor am I advocating action. How you react to a situation is up to you. My “purpose” here is to address matters of the spirit.

Peace can’t be forced. Peace and happiness are natural states. When the illusion of ego fades, these feelings emerge. The death of the “self” is replaced by the appearance of the True Self. The ego-mind is always searching, always struggling, always fighting, always looking ahead, never content. It’s easy to see that an ego-driven society is doomed to a state of unrest.