Why are we here and where do we belong?

I am just posing a question, and I thought I would put it in the spiritual section. I often wondered where I belong and what my place is in this universe.

I have gone down a path of darkness for so long, and even though I have seen the light, I am still not completely happy. Like my weight for instance. I despise being this heavy and I have done absolutely nothing about it, I just complain and procrastinate. Is that normal?

What are some of the things you feel you should fix where you would be closer to understand where you belong and what place you have in the universe?

Is life really ever joy and roses at any point? Or do we go on with just some happiness and just get by on that?

Why are we here? Just to suffer and enjoy some things but not all and spend our life dreaming? I guess I am envious of those who I think have it all. Like you know celebreties and people who have real musical talent. But arent they messed up too for the most part? Like with the drugs and overdoeses?

I just dont get it.

Im just trying to find my place and I have big questions with not enough answers.

Any input would be helpful.

Thank you

For me, I don't have much. I mean, I have a house and a car -- for that I am grateful. I'm much luckier than a lot of people. But that doesn't even mean alot to me. What I have wanted the most is peace of mind.

And I found it. I had to become a drunk to do it tho. LOL When I got sober, I joined AA, and I was agnostic at the time. Trouble is, in AA they talk about a "higher power" alot -- and I didn't have one, so I faked it til i made it. And I MADE IT. Finally I came to believe, thru a spiritual awakening, which scared the living daylights out of me!! But once I came to know my Higher Power (whom I choose to call God) I found the kind of peace of mind that many would envy. That's all I ever wanted. And today, i feel like thats all I need, even if I lost everything.

No.

The ability to understand no one has any place on the universe.

Nah, life is an illusion with deluded assets belonging to a profound indoctrination..

You tell us, chief.

I am not totally sure what my purpose is either. Neil DeGrasse Tyson says "For me, I am driven by two main philosophies, know more today about the world than I knew yesterday. And lessen the suffering of others. You'd be surprised how far that gets you." I think that's a pretty good philosophy or starting point.

Losing weight is one of the hardest things to do... no doubt you've heard that the long-term success rate is around 5%. I do know of one woman who lost 530 (yes, 530) pounds and has kept it off, without any surgery, for ten years now. Her specific problem was isolation and once she conquered that the weight dropped off without even any dieting on her part.

I've had joy and roses but they seem to be further between than when I was younger. I think we do just go on with some happiness, if we're lucky. Few people are happy all the time.

Why are we here? That's the universal question. And I don't know, as I am agnostic.

You said it about those whom you think have it all. Those who reach the pinnacle so often find they aren't any happier. Jim Carey said he wished everyone could become wealthy and famous to see it's not the answer. And that's because in the end it's not what nice things someone has that have true meaning, I think it's the people, love, friendships, relationships you've had and have in your life that truly satisfy the soul.

"I just dont get it."

A lot of us don't. In that, you're not alone

for me, life's just been 1 disaster after another.

so how i see it... you are born, you live in aagony, then you die.

used to believe in life after death too, but now i don't... i realise how stupid it is- who on earth would want to do this again

We are the universe and we are part of it. You are here because the universe is here.

Negitive feelings and negitivity is culturaly imprinted on us from birth. It is the way of the modern world.

You are you and no one is like you. Honor yourself, and shed all the negitive imprints, for they are not real.

Only you will be able to find satisfying enough answers to your questions - and even thats unlikely to happen. I don't think human beings were built with the capacity to understand such things. Also if you were to lose weight and be your ideal size the chances of you being considerably happier are slim. Celebrities are just as miserable as normal people - except they have their misery splashed about on pages of newspapers and magazines. Life is hard for everyone - but without the difficulties we wouldn't be able to appreciate the better moments. Happiness is by nature, fleeting. The more we chase after it the more likely it is to allude us. I would focus on maintaining as healthy and fulfilling a lifestyle as possible - could helping others draw you out of this introspection? most people gain fulfilment from accomplishing things - this doesn't necessarily mean being ambitious, sometimes just being a kind and decent enough person is enough. Above all just try and relax and enjoy whatever comes your way, theres excitement in uncertainty as well as fear. I hope ive been helpful. All the best.

Dear Platinum Heart,
I think you got great advice except the one who is on the Universe!
Nevermind negativity.
Life is full of suffering, sadness, and envy as well as joy, gladness, and greatness but none of these states are permanent. Work on being neutral with your emotions. Do not cling or grasp the things you think will make you happy nor should you feel aversion toward the things you find unhappy.
Right now you are where you need to be. Ask yourself how does my current situation provide me the opportunity to learn and grow.
Your weight is just a number as women we grow subtle and soft. It is a blessing, I could lose 50lbs and i would weigh what I did in my 20's but I am 40 now and weigh 165lbs. but it would not change who I am.
Motivation has to come from within.
Whatever you like to eat you can make it healthy. If you can walk around the block or go to the park do it. Your purpose is the experience of life.

In the world of Zen or Buddhism it is believed that all things can be a path to enlightenment, if you choose to see it that way. Zen masters appreciate the good, and the bad, equally. They don't blame or lament like the rest of us. They accept life, no matter what happens. I know the path to enlightenment, but all this dog poop on my shoes, and bird droppings on my head are distracting me.

I cant say I dont understand how you feel. I just have to suppose that something I do might be copied by another of these monkeys. I hope they catch me in a good moment

I think for many the search for meaning stems from a wish to justify or explain suffering in the present. Will meaning take all the pain away though?

Maybe for some.

Hi PlatinumHeart. I think your username is really nice !! I think that all these questions are rich. Because often when we search for answers, it means we are leaving the room for information. I am personally uncomfortable around people who are sure they have the answers. But I see a wealth of possibility for those who do not know, if that makes sense. One thing is for certain. I really do not know anything. But I guess at a lot. And I do say what I think. Knowing that what I think or feel changes a lot. But thats the way I like it.

I think that being overweight, and believe me I have spent many years there in the past, can be because of using food to soothe, comfort or even feel control. So its a tough one to take the actions to change that. I understand hating oneself for the body being overweight. I did that for years. And still do it when I am not feeling thin enough. Its really sad for anyone to have hate about themselves. But I do understand.

Here is what I think. I think that I, as a soul chose to be here in this body at this time to expereince certain things. Even imbalances, pain etc. Perhaps there is a greater purpose to the pain. And perhaps in the pain lays the opportunity to experience or heal something we, in our limited mind ( as opposed to the wisdom of our soul) cannot really understand. I do not know. I am just writing possibilities to muse.

I personally think that many of us chose lifetimes of great suffering and pain. And others did not. But I would not be willing to say that the life of a successful actor or business person etc is, on a soul level, any more powerful than the life of a person who lives with mental illness and great pain. Because I do believe that as souls sometimes the most painful lifetimes can be the most lofty on a soul level.

Having said that, I do want to say I am sorry for the suffering you live with. I want to let you know that I too live with suffering, with self hatred and much more. Thanks for asking this question. I think he has sparked some great posts in response.

I once read a very wise person say that being aware was realizing we do not know. Enlightenment is said to come with awareness, so maybe enlightenment is admitting and knowing that we do know. Anyways just something that made sense to me.

I also listened to someone talk about how the questions like "what is the purpose of us being here" is not a very appropriate question in scientific terms.. more suitable to things that were indeed created for a specific purpose.. like a can opener. Anyways it was quite interesting listening to that viewpoint. For someone like myself who likes to mix science with spirituality it did make a lot of sense to me.

Some questions are better left unanswered, or actually do not have an answer to begin with.

Maybe some of the answers are there when the questions are asked. I am not saying all of the answers. But perhaps in the desire for understanding, knowledge and wisdom, we open our heart and mind.

I do think there are an infinate amount of insights and information. Much of which will not be available to us. Even the great ascended masters do not know everything. Just my own thoughts

I don't know why we are here. My guess is that atmosphere always was and science happens. It's not something I can't comprehend because I'm human and not good at understanding the hard sciences. God doesn't make sense but I'm not sure that humans are at the top of the food chain. People need to make sense of their lives so that is why God was invented. I'm not sure what happens to one's being after death. I think it travels back to the atmosphere or maybe expires completely. That's my take on life.

The Big Question: Why Are We Here?
http://www.psychologytoday.com/colle...hy-are-we-here

Having requires action. If all we do is sit and wonder what more life could offer, then all we're really doing is sitting. Getting up, moving, and making it happen is necessary if you want more. It's the same with joy. The key to having it is finding it in each and every moment, rather than waiting for it to find you. These things are lifestyles.

The bigger questions such as those in the title can not be answered by anyone else. You decide what your reason for living is, what you want out of life, and where you are going to belong. It can take time to figure these things out, but I think it takes truly living to do so. I just keep going, and eventually life brings me to the place I need to be and the next goal I need to accomplish.

We are here for no reason.

Really Nihil, is that what you truly think? You must have SOME purpose.
A life without purpose is a life not worth living.
Why do we even bother waking up in the morning to go to work? Why bother studying? Why bother creating? Why bother even eating, reading, walking, talking, or even bother posting on this forum?

You see, you can tell me that your eyes have a purpose:seeing, legs have a purpose:walking, darnnit even your thumb has a purpose!! Yet the whole of you has no purpose?
Than what is the point in living then?

You know what that causes? Suicidal depression.
Thats when the downward spiral of depression starts...questioning what is the point in doing anything anymore, if it is all pointless anyways?

It just equals a bunch of wasted energy, and just tires you even more than you already are.

I hope you don't really mean that, because if you do then you really arent helping those who are depressed and are sucking the hope out of everything.

For me personally, my motives are not tied to any metaphysical belief system.

There is no objective purpose to life, other than to survive and procreate so as to continue on the existence of our species. However, this is not to say that people cannot construct their own purposes. In fact, I daresay that one of the reasons why I get up every morning is because I have an obligation to do just that - I was not born with a pre-prepared path to take or a set of certain goals that I must accomplish by a certain length of time, and therefore I am charged with manually establishing these things myself.
Existence in itself is empty; we, as animals of higher cognitive capacities, have the amazing ability to create meaning out of something that would otherwise be dull and lifeless. We create worlds of our own in our mind, and we can choose to decipher reality and existence in any way we want. Claiming that acknowledging this leads to depression is as ridiculous as saying that an artist should not create paintings, because the canvas was empty to begin with.

To be honest i really think "normal" people dont have a sense of euphoria or roses n wine lol however, i think that their brains and bodies find satisfaction in existance. if we always loook for this amazing normal life we will not find it, life is just life and being "normal" is just a state of being. I am trying to be content with where i am in the world

I don't believe we have a purpose either, other than to pass along our genetics and further the human species. However like Shanzy said we have the ability to create our own purposes. Richard Dawkins has a pretty good video talking this very thing, he calls them neo purposes. The video is called the purpose of the purpose.. I think having legs to walk, eye to see, and life to pass genes all seem to fit together in the same context of purpose.

I am not depressed tho, or suicidal.. I am pretty content, peaceful and happy with life. Not because my life is so easy, and not because I feel I have divine purpose.

Why do we get up, go to work, why do we bother ? Probably a big part because we need to survive.. to pass and further our genes. The other part perhaps because we want to, and because we can create our own purposes. I want to bother.. I want to bother because life is so interesting. The universe is interesting, the earth, the creatures.. It's all pretty amazing. I get to be here in a human body and mind to experience this.. pretty cool, even statistically. It really is not a question of why bother.. in my opinion it's more a question of why not bother, I mean you are already here.

I don't think offering different opinions about the subject of purpose is sucking all the hope out of anything, maybe different ideas can help others sometimes.

Depression and hope to me seems to be more a matter of perspective than a matter of purpose. Some people might want to use such purposes to help them with life, others don't.. but that doesn't automatically default to depression. Sometimes it can have the opposite effect.

I am also quite spiritual.. but without a divine purpose I understand that people can be confused how that works.