Why do I exist?
“The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for.”
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
I think this question lies dormant in every human heart until we awaken it. What is my purpose? Do I have a purpose? Do I figure it out on my own? Do I get help to figure it out? Who has the best advice? Should I strive to be like someone else, one of the great leaders? How will I know when I have lived up to my purpose? The questions go on and on.
I suspect there are some people who pay little attention to these questions, living day to day so to speak. And then there are others that make the purpose quest an active part of their daily lives by asking simple questions, like what should I do today, who should I talk to and so on?
A daily purpose plan, weekly monthly and even yearly. Some people go that way, loving their calendars. Bless them.
I’m more of a one day at a time kind of guy. Funny thing, I think it started that way for me in the Boy Scouts. Do a good turn daily. That was our motto. Don’t expect anything in return, just do something good. It was a daily thing. And that sent me off with a time element to my purpose statement. And somewhere along the way, I began to fill in my reason for existence. To help others.
In fact, my personal motto for many years now, comes from Fred Smith, To Stretch Others.
So I learned that my purpose every day was to stretch others, to bring out the best in them, help them to achieve what they don’t always believe, but can still conceive.
I wish I had found this purpose and applied it to my early life much more than I did, most of my early years were devoted primarily to myself. Maybe that is OK, but I missed out on helping others. To be fair, I helped others a lot as well. But my point is simple, it took me a while to find my purpose. It took even longer to find a job or career or profession to apply it in.
When you come to the last chapter of your life, your EOL as we say, End of Life; you tend to think about these things. Did I have a purpose, did I do good, was my life well lived and so on. Why did I exist and did I do more than merely exist but exist with bells on?
This can become a pain point, or a distress point at EOL. Was my life productive and valuable to me and others or was it filled with misspent time and wasting of my talents? These are questions that are hard to ask out loud, but you can be sure that they are floating through the minds of those that are closing out the last chapters of their lives.
I see a lot of existential pain. It is the uncertainty if I’ve finished my work and my life and family on this earth and would others call it a good life, or more importantly, do I think it was a good life. This is where I get to do really good work with these people, by stretching them even more in their last days. We often review their lives, and validate their purpose and describe the rewards of such a well lived life.
Most people have done far more good than they allow themselves to believe. It is an incredible privilege for me to be able to rediscover the good things they have done in their lives and help them to stand tall before they die.
I don’t do it with every person, some are not Christians, but I love to quote the Lord when he offers his Well Done My Faithful Servant to those that follow Him. Most people want to know what God thinks of them and their lives. My years of Bible study, really God study, have well equipped me for helping them find the good that God sees in them, and embracing God’s goodness in them.
Well, I’m afraid I have mixed several subjects in this post. Main point being, ask yourself some questions about your existence today. Why are you here? Why are you reading this? Reach out to a friend if these questions perplex you and leave you unfulfilled. You are here for extraordinary reasons and I look forward to stretching you more.