Artist Above: Manzel Bowman
“You’ll always find the evidence for what you choose to believe.” – IN-Q
You fools! I got you again with the same clickbait title, but I peppered a little 2.0 on it to jazz it up.
In the world of writing, I’m pretty sure it is frowned upon to re-work your older pieces. As you may have already guessed, this guy right here does not give a single shit. Plus, this is less about re-working the blog and more about re-tackling this issue: is there a purpose to life?
A few years back I wrote There is no Purpose to Life, and to date, this is my second most-read blog behind Secrets, Shame, & Sexuality.
Though the blogs may be different, they share a commonality worth highlighting: the number of views each of these blogs has, compared to my others, does not even come close. To me, this is a clear indication that the subject matter is more important than the blogs themselves. More people than we realize are struggling with the same universal issues.
It is that very reason this blog is getting a revamp. Something that also needs addressing from the first version is the underpinning of nihilism littered throughout the blog.
My bad, yo.
But if I’m honest, even though I try to see the world as sunshine and rainbows, I still get caught in the nihilistic loop quite often. Although that may always be a work in progress, my views on this question have changed.
You can’t do that, Justin! Once you vomit your opinions on the internet, there is no going back! As a society, it is our job to hold you to your word! Forever! Even though you are a completely different person with a whole new set of life views since the first one came out, change is not allowed, you fucking cunt!
Dude, chill out.
Our ideas, beliefs, and opinions should always be changing! We should always be changing! If we’re not, what the fuck are we doing with our lives? Yes, let us be firm in some areas. But let us also have the balls to be more fluid with ourselves if better knowledge comes our way. Initially, I didn’t believe there was a true inherent purpose to life, but life experience has changed that––a shift in perspective I couldn’t have arrived at if I was married to my beliefs.
WE ARE ONE
The purpose of life is to realize that we are all one, but we must all wake up to this realization together.
Boom. Blogs over, go home and give me my money.
I’m jolking, folks.
But seriously, I genuinely believe that this is the purpose of life.
Now, let me be very, very clear, I have zero fucking clue as to what the purpose of life is––if there even is one. This is just what I believe. This is where the road has led me. Maybe in another five years, this all changes again. But for right now, this feels righteous.
You’re probably sitting there wondering how the hell did I end up suckering you into reading another one of my blogs. Skills to pay the bills, baby. You’re also probably thinking that this is all hippy-dippy horse shit.
It’s an over simplification of the complexity of life, you fuckface!
Dude, what the fuck?
And maybe it is. But maybe it isn’t. In the end, is life not what we choose to believe?
The person who believes that life is frightening is only going to see just that. Everywhere they look, there’s evil in the world. Whereas the person who believes that life is beautiful, their world is full of magic.
Life is perception.
And if that is the case, could heaven and hell be states of minds that we can access at any time rather than a place we go when we die?
So then, would it not be better to believe that we are all one? Does that not feel better than believing that life has no purpose? Or going down the road of the smaller self believing in separation?
Listen, like you, I can sit here and participate in some good old mental masturbation coming up with all the different ways on how there is no purpose to life––and I’ve done it. Refer to the first version of this.
But there’s a problem with thinking, and that’s over-thinking. I’m not saying don’t think. Blind acceptance can get us into trouble, and this is where critical thinking pays off. But we need to realize when thinking becomes a burden, and that’s when it leads us to separation, apathy, and nihilism.
LESS THINKING, MORE FEELING
Many people never take the time to pick apart the bigger questions in life, and honestly, they’re onto something. Those lucky fucks. But if you’re reading this blog, then like me, that’s most likely not an option for you. Sure it would be nice not to spiral into an incessant thought-loop pondering our impending doom for hours on end. But that’s not how we are wired.
So then, what do we do if we’re textbook over-thinkers? What is our antidote for the deep thinking that causes us suffering?
Think less; feel more. This may feel like a dagger to the heart, but hear me out.
If we sit here and play mental chess with the bigger questions in life––is there a purpose to life, does God exist, what happens when we die, do Melania and Trump actually have sex––we’re almost always going to come up with some grim answer. You know why? Because that is the thinking mind doing what it does best––needing to know. But these are questions that have no correct answer.
“I MUST KNOW THOUGH,” the ego protest.
When we need an answer to extinguish our angst from over-thinking, we’ll accept anything that soothes the ego’s temper tantrum. This is a recipe for disaster as the thinking mind will always find a way to be ten moves ahead––but only through feeling can we ever reach check-mate.
Feeling is the one thing we can know for certain.
We know for certain that it feels good to help people.
We know for certain that it feels good after we put in a rewarding hard day’s worth of work.
We know for certain that it feels good when we contribute our piece of the puzzle to help humanity.
We know for certain that it feels good to laugh and play.
And we know for certain that feeling good feels good.
Yes, maybe there is no real purpose to life. We’ll never know. We’ll also never know if realizing we’re all one is the purpose of life. But damn though, one of those sure does feel better.
So when you find yourself caught between wondering whether or not there is a purpose to all of this, get quiet enough so that voice can come through.
What voice are you talking about, Justin?
The one that slaps you in the face and says:
“Hey dummy, which one feels better?”
Edited by: Patricia Hendriks
