What Are We Here For?

“Why am I here?”
“What was I put here for?”
“What is my purpose?”

These are questions that have plagued minds for centuries! The philosophers pondered them seeking answers; the cynics pondered why pondering such ponderances so ponderously was so immensely satisfying when no answer was ever agreed upon (which is not unusual for philosophers, for they tend to be a disagreeable lot opting to disagree about disagreeing).

There truly was a train of thought, for which I purchased a ticket and apparently a distraction caused the train to derail.  Please feel free to hum quietly to yourself whilst the difficulty is noted, addressed, and sorted out once more.

Ah yes.  Lovely harmonious humming by the by.

Some would reason that our purpose for existing is merely a freak accident, and we have no redeeming value whatsoever.  To these people, I would ask that you do the rest of us a HUGE favor and cling to the exterior of the next spacecraft lifting off.  After all since we have no purpose, you wont be missing out on anything important.

Then there are those who believe, while we may not be an accident, our existence is limited to our timespan in this orb, after which we simply become a pile of chemical refuse, stinking up the place and feeding various pests, rodents, and scavengers.  Thus our existence serves only as food for naught.  To these, I simply say, please go ahead and lie down to await the inevitable feast you shall become for the critters.  Oh, and please, for the sake of the rest of us, use some sort of air freshener.  Odor control is the only polite course of action here.

We do, in fact, have purpose and a reason for being.  Just look around you.  Someone within your field of vision, unless you are blind or alone (which means you’re not reading this anyway, so CARRYON), needs what you have to offer.  Perhaps it’s a word of encouragement they seek.  Maybe it’s a hug, or a smile, or a word of counsel, an ear to listen, or that muffin you were saving for later. You have purpose because ONLY you can provide what you have to offer.

As for me? I’m here for the coffee and observation.

“Why Am I Here?”

Why Am I Here?

Ever ask yourself this question?  Or, perhaps, pose the question to…anyone who might be listening?  If we are breathing, I can guarantee that this question has popped up more than once. We want to know our purpose for existing! We ponder the point; we dwell on the issue; we stay awake at night wondering.

The “why” part of our existence isn’t nearly as important as the fact that we are here, and we are not here alone!  It’s not by accident that you are where you are.  It’s not by accident that you have the friends that you have.  It’s not by accident that you’re reading this point right now.  There are over 7 BILLION people on this blue marble right now.  That’s 7,000,000,000 people!  That’s quite a crowd.

Ever wonder why you’ve gone through the things you’ve had to endure?  How about this…look at the fact that you endured!  You are still here and you are still breathing.  Believe it or not, that is not as easy as it may sound.  Remember though, if you didn’t have a purpose for enduring, you wouldn’t be here.

So why are we here?  Simple, to make a difference!

Consider Walt Whitman’s words:

Oh me! Oh life! of the questions of these recurring,

Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill’d with the foolish,

Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)

Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the struggle ever renew’d,

Of the poor results of all, of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me,

Of the empty and useless years of the rest, with the rest me intertwined,

The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?

     Answer.

That you are here—that life exists and identity,

That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.

“That the powerful play goes on, and YOU may contribute a verse.”

What verse will you contribute?

One of hope or one of despair?

One of caring or one of apathy?

What verse would you like to contribute?