What's the purpose to life anyway?

I've been struggling with finding my purpose and I really don't know if I have one anymore... Things seem bleak and my dreams I once had don't seem attainable anymore. I can't remember the last time I actually felt joy. Help

This is an ancient question... and even though it's in the spirituality forum, I cannot answer it completely for you.

However, the purpose to life IS a spiritual one ...one must seek the answer in this area for sure! For me, the purpose is to love and worship God... that's all He wants from me and it's enough for now, for me

How do you know what He is telling you? I've been trying to figure out what He wants from me, but nothing makes sense.

He says in His Book.... there for all to read.

"The meaning of life is just to be alive. It's so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everyone rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves." -Alan Watts

This quote has struck me profoundly on my journey as I ask what my purpose and meaning may be. It's given me permission to not feel like I have to reach the unattainable. It's given me permission to just be. It's simplified the meaning of life and my purpose. All I have to do is be. That's it. Just be alive. How profound for me and yet so simple. Just be alive. Who I am is enough through all time.

I have also been reading Life After Life by Raymond Moody (http://selfdefinition.org/afterlife/...After-Life.pdf). These quotes from the book struck me as deeply profound.

There is a remarkable ag
reement in the "lessons,"
as it were, which have
been brought back from these close en
counters with death. Almost everyone
has stressed the importance in this life of
trying to cultivate love for others, a
love of a unique and profound kind. On
e man who met the being of light felt
totally loved and accepted,
even while his whole life was displayed in a
panorama for the being to see. He felt th
at the "question"
that the being was
asking him was whether he wa
s able to love others in the same way. He now
feels that it is his commission while on
earth to try to lear
n to be able to do
so.

In addition, many others have emph
asized the importance of seeking
knowledge. During their ex
periences, it was intimated to them that the
acquisition of knowledge continues even
in the after-life. One woman, for
example, has taken advantage of ever
y educational opportunity she has had
since her "death" experience. Another
man offers the advice, "No matter
how old you are, don't stop
learning. For this is a proc
ess, I gather
, that goes
on for eternity."

That really struck me. That for those with these Near Death Experiences (NDEs) the two things that mattered most for their lives were did they love others and did they gain knowledge. Again, simple yet profound. Love (and I think this includes for self and maybe God if that's what you believe) and knowledge. Love others and gain knowledge. Wow. We all know how difficult that can be. We can take a lifetime learning those lessons, but I believe they are worthy goals (or purposes).



So, just be alive, love others (and I believe we should love ourselves as well), and gain knowledge. I think I can live with that. I hope that this has helped you even if only a little on your own journey to discovering your purpose.

I guess there is no one right answer that fits everyone.

For me the purpose of life is to find a purpose. To have goals, dreams, ambitions, hopes. And to be happy and live a life of as little regret as possible. To make friends and be with loved ones. To find a path of my own and move forward on that path.

I hope your able to find your own purpose.

A person's purpose or lack thereof is determined by their level of understanding.

Thanks everyone for your input. I think I'm struggling to find joy and peace with all the negativity in the world and comparing myself to others so often. I need to focus more on what I do have rather than what I don't.

I found my purpose in life when I came to the realization that it's better to give than to receive; better to not judge than judge; and better to love than be loved.

That is right!

Stop struggling, the answer is within you. It is usually when things seem bleak, growth is not far off.
It's always dark before a storm, but, when the rain falls everything looks brighter.
Sometimes what we want to attain is not for us.
Madera

I have found that very often I am "led" to go one path and then it turns out to be not the path to continue...but unless I went down that path I would not have come to the next path where I was to continue.

It's like we don't get to see the "big whole picture" probably because we would chicken out or be overwhelmed...and to get us where we need to be requires a gentle needling along shorter or different pathways?

"If you look to the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. If you look to God, you'll be at rest." -Corrie ten Boom

I'm struggling with that right now, obviously. I have depression myself. But this is the problem with looking to yourself for a purpose. You're a fallen person, as all people are. You need a savior, and humans are built to know that they do. Even if you don't admit it to yourself, you'll figure it out subconsciously, and you will be unhappy.

I hope you find your purpose, friend.

I think those are powerful words to live by and I think I shall start living my life like that as well.

In the grand scheme of things? You can die without ever knowing your purpose and still have served it. It all matters.

"I need to focus more on what I do have rather than what I don't." Yes, gratitude helps us live better.

I think the purpose of life is to "live it and experience it", I don't think you have to "follow" any set out path or be a hero or someone big and successful either. It's just finding things to do and see for the "experience itself" rather than moving mountains or making the "grade' or striving for some kind of perfection.

Giving is good.
But not receiving is not good. One must accept gifts, learn to receive from others, to help make life fulfilling. If we never accept and insist upon always giving...we miss a full experience of the process. Plus, who are others to give to if no one will receive?

love thy neighbor as you love yourself too

I have always thought my purpose was to have and raise my daughter, which I have done. So since I have finished my purpose why am I still here?

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"...we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively. There is no such thing as death, life is only a dream and we are the imagination of ourselves..."-Bill Hicks.

Your daughter is always going to need her mom.

To lead a meaningful life by enriching the lives of others though assisting, loving and caring about them.

I believe it to be to build a strong relationship with God and to put forth as much good in this world as possible (through both our everyday interactions with others and our broader life goals). Putting forth good could involve anything from simply smiling at strangers to being a good parent to volunteering in Africa. I also think it's important not to neglect yourself either. It's hard to want and strive for happiness for others if you're unhappy yourself.

Living in the present, without thought of yesterday, tomorrow, or even five minutes from now negates the question all together, what is our purpose?

One purpose in life I have not chosen but feel has been thrust upon me, has been to improve my personal situation. Always not enough this, or that, always needing to eat food is an endless pursuit. To get that food, there are certain things I must do. Those are purposes that, to keep my body alive, these acts need to be performed. Other acts bring joy. Some, I have learned, bring pain. To me, the purpose of life is to improve my situation. To improve my own situation, I've sometimes found it necessary to try and improve the situation of others. Sometimes, that has backfired horribly, or so it felt at the time. One purpose in life I hadn't expected was to try and make sense of all that has happened to me, and I've made it a purpose to understand my purpose. I'm still learning each day. I've been alive several days now. It's meaningful to me to say thanks to everyone who's been here and in my life. I expect to continue learning what it's all about, and has been about, for some time come, God willing. It's been painful, and, it's been pleasurable.