Philosophy - for me is a big word with a small meaning. At the risk of oversimplifying it and using the word loosely, Philosophy for me essentially means belief in an explanation of something; our underlying belief in the explanation of an idea, thought, pattern or system that at its most innate level helps qualify our everyday lives and rationalizes our behavior, attitude, lifestyle and culture. This explanation could have been taught (by culture, people), experienced (by circumstances) or even rationalized by oneself (to find meaning and purpose to an event); but in the end it is what characterizes everything we hold on dearly to and why we choose to be the way we are. Whether or not these beliefs have rational and / or logical flaws in them is immaterial; as long as they make sense to the person who holds them. Sometimes the explanation might be as limited as 'This is just who i am;' yet the fact that it is explanation enough for the person, goes to support the fact that it is the underlying philosophy for that specific event, circumstance, behavior, attitude or being. Where all philosophy starts with a question - how, why, where, when, what; our being human starts with trying to make sense of the world we are in. We often do so by asking questions and sometimes by just accepting answers without thinking through them.
Therefore, believe it or not, every human (you inclusive) is a mini philosopher; most times even without trying to be. As we all hold onto an explanation of why we choose to be the way we are, or what we do; we all have and continuously develop our own unique philosophy of life and our being. Philosophy is a way of life (even when practised informally in everyday life) and is deeply connected to our being human. Charles Schultz is known to have said, "I think I've discovered the secret of life - you just hang around until you get used to it." While hanging around thus, we develop our own unique formula or philosophy of life.
But all to what end? "He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how," said Neitzsche. Could it be that our deepest sense of longing and all our philosophy of life and being works towards leading us to our purpose in life? Gautama Buddha is known to have said, "Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it." Robert Bryne said that The purpose of life is a life of purpose. If we look at our everyday lives (at least if i look at mine), i find this pursuit to be true. Everything i do and every philosophy i live seems to be guided by finding, loving and living out my purpose in life.
But how do we find our purpose - if we do have one? Carl Sagan said, "We make our purpose." "Free yourself from the complexities and drama of your life. Simplify. Look within. Within ourselves we all have the gifts and talents we need to fulfill the purpose we've been blessed with," said Steve Maraboli in Life, the Truth, and Being Free. However where most people's answer to where and how they find their purpose starts and stops by looking at / within themselves, i personally believe that the whole question of purpose is a moot point without the existence of God.
Therefore as Rick Warren wrote in The Purpose Driven Life, "Without God, life has no purpose, and without purpose, life has no meaning. Without meaning, life has no significance or hope;" i believe that we need to understand God and our purpose from the perspective of a created being, else we would write off the very need for a purpose. William Lane Craig said, "If there is no God, then man and the universe are doomed. Like prisoners condemned to death, we await our unavoidable execution. There is no God, and there is no immortality. And what is the consequence of this? It means that life itself is absurd. It means that the life we have is without ultimate significance, value, or purpose."
When all of us being human seem to be driven by the need to find our purpose and how we spend our lives, especially with it being the question we seem to pose to ourselves from our deepest beings; we ought to be able to find an answer to it. "The question of how to spend my life, of what my life is for, is a question posed only to me, and I can no more delegate the responsibility for answering it than I can delegate the task of dying," said Anthony Kronman in Education's End. I find my purpose in life in being a Christian; as such my philosophy of life stems from understanding and living the purpose for which i was created.
Where do you find your purpose and what is your philosophy of life?
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