The pursuit of Purpose

The Pursuit of Purpose

Oftentimes I hear questions such as "What is my purpose?" or "What is the purpose of life?". These are questions that I'm sure we will all ask at some point or another. The answer will also vary from person to person and thinker to thinker. Recently I have been trying to find an answer to this question, and this is what I've come up with.

I've heard of people saying that money and cars and such cannot make you happy. By themselves, this statement might be true. However, I'd like to think that these things make life more enjoyable. Having purpose means that a person will make an impact. This impact could be on the world in its entirety (such as breakthrough medicines and/or technologies). However, it doesn't have to be such a large scale. On a smaller magnitude, it could be impacting someone's life like that of a teacher or firefighter. Therefore, having purpose fuels a person's joy.

The first thing I thought about was death. If someone were willing to lay his or her life down for a cause, no matter what the cause, that person would be passionate about it. If someone were willing to give up everything, even his or her final breath, it'd make them happy. For instance, firefighters know there is a chance that they could die while putting out a fire. However, the smiles on the faces of parents when he walks out with their child alive is worth every risk. Many people have died for a reason that they believed would impact the world. The greatest example I can think of is Jesus Christ. He died believing his death would save a dying generation; therefore, he died with passion. (Hence the name a of the movie that was made after him.)

The second thing is life. Have someone that you would live for? Have someone that you would cherish and love? This doesn't have to be a girlfriend/boyfriend or spouse. It could also be a sibling, parent, relative, friend, or stranger. But having someone that you would be willing to do whatever it takes to impact that persons life would give you purpose. I would say that purpose would be defined as the person he or she cared about most was able to see the impact that was made.

Having a cause worth dying for gives you a reason to live and removes the fear of death. Have a love worth living for makes dying bearable and living a blessing.