What is your purpose?

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Those of you who are atheists and/or believe that this life is all we have and that the world is the result of a random sequence of events, how do you see your purpose in life? I'm wondering as I'm going through a spiritual crisis right now (I wasn't religious but did believe in something) and I'm struggling to understand how we can can see a purpose out of pure randomness. How do you place a sense of value on your life - is it through learning as much as you can about this life, or through making the most of each moment? What makes you not want to just give up on life if there is no reason for anything?

What kind of purpose would you prefer? Some people find satisfaction making other people happy. Some people find satisfaction in performing their jobs well. Some people find satisfaction in making lots of money. Some people find satisfaction in proving to other people that they are, in some way, superior humans. Some people adhere to the commands in some religion or other. Some people busy themselves understanding some sector or other of existence and telling other people about it. People are different and have different interests. It's up to you to discover what satisfies you. Just be aware that out of the millions of sperms and eggs that produce humans only a very few make it into existence as humans and that in itself is a great success. And it lasts only for something less than a century on the average which is a very short time so you should be very happy to have this very short trip through existence. It is very rare.

the idea of "purpose" is a creation of the human mind. I don't believe there is a place for "purpose" is the rights that govern the universe. I think it's art for art's sake.

The purpose one has, is what purpose one assigns to himself. You are your own master, you decide what sort of goal you have, because the universe does not care for your need of a purpose.

Question though. How does the god concept go around this problem? And does it matter if you believe in it or not?

One's perspective on that probably depends on whether one believes in free will or not. I don't. I believe that I am doing "exactly" what the universe "wants" me to do, in that this is how I "work"/what I "do", and all of this is the result of the universe of which I am part. I cannot lose my "way" because "my way" is that which the universe has me follow. And this has helped me to accept/acknowledge other people's "ways" a lot more aswell as my own.

But it is possible that I would have had trouble with this idea/belief if I had not started believing in god a year and a half ago. Believing in god I don't feel like the helpless "pawn" of some machine-like "matrix" which I might otherwise. It's as if "belief in god" is like a language-based prosthetic for the connection with the universe which most/many of us have lost, and some people achieve/glimpse/are conscious of as a result of meditation/years of discipline/prolongation of moments of grace etc.

As above.
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Last edited by ouinon on 10 May 2009, 9:01 am, edited 3 times in total.

There is some sort of misconception that people are independent of the universe. They are not.

I don't believe in free will either, but the illusion of free will suffices quite good. There have been a lot of instances of people changing their ways.

EDIT: Also, as Sand pointed out, you seem to think that reality is subjective.

I agree.

I don't understand why you chose my post to quote in order to say that. I stated " the universe of which I am a part".

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No, a perfect blend of the two, ( subjective and objective ).

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I merely agreed and reenforced you. No problem.

Ah, ok.
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Thanks for the fast responses guys. I don't really know what my purpose is at the moment, so I guess I need to figure out what I want it to be. At the moment I'm in a sort of crisis where I'm angry about a whole load of stuff, both past and present. That's why I'm rejecting a lot of my belief systems and trying to work out why I'm here (if there is a reason, perhaps not) and what i can do with how my life is and make it into a purposeful existance. Maybe I need to work through my feelings a bit more before I can make any decisions. I like the idea of the creative mind - I've always been quite creative as I used to write stories as a child and I play piano. Not sure if they are my purpose but they're things to latch onto.

When that is how I saw life, the universe and everything I found this very difficult indeed. Life seemed overwhelming, oppressive, paralysing, terrifying, depressing, in its meaninglessness, and finding a sense of purpose impossible, except for fleeting, fragile periods of time.

I don't believe in life after death, but I don't perceive the universe as "random", because of "belief in god", and this has made an enormous difference.

I realised after replying to Henriksson that I wasn't one of the people you were asking for experiences from. Sorry about that.

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Probably the most important thing in your or any life is to accept that you are in charge, this is your only life and it is up to you to use it as best you can. This does not mean you should not consider what people you respect might advise but all of it must be examined on the basis of your own judgment and desires and necessities. Free will might be an illusion but it is a valuable one.

^ ouinon, I find your comments to be very exasperating. I can't get a handle on what, if anything, you actually believe in. Why did life seem "oppressive, paralysing, terrifying, depressing, in its meaninglessness" when you thought this life was all we had, & how has your position actually changed if you don't now believe in life after death? & when you say that your belief in god is a "language-based prosthetic", it sounds to me like you are signaling that you are only playing at believing in god. I get the impression that you like to keep things vague & mysterious, & are not interested in whether the vagueness is justified or the mystery even exists.

I hope I don't sound like I'm attacking you, but you really bemuse me.

As for me, I have no 'purpose' in the sense of some external meaning or destiny, there is only the different objectives my consciousness chooses, or is forced towards, based on my various urges, instincts, & emotions. It doesn't sound much on paper, but in practice it is more than enough.

My role model is Socrates who set out to show the know it all that he does not know nearly as much as he says he does. I am the boy who tells the emperor that he is bare a**-naked. My hope is that I do not end up like my hero Socrates.

ruveyn