Everything in nature has a purpose. Everything.
Even the long stringy things in bananas have a purpose. Aside from being an annoyance to remove every time you peel a banana, the purpose of those annoying long stringy things called Phloem Bundles (pronounced Flom) is to carry nutrients to all parts of the banana during the growth process. Once its purpose is served, the phloem bundles make bananas one of the world’s most perfect and nutritionally complete foods. The banana can then serve its purpose by being consumed by animals (including us) for the enjoyment and benefit of our bodies. Without the long stringy things, all you would have is a flavorful mushy edible treat that has no value when consumed.
The majority of nature functions without the ability or need to question its purposes or subsequent use. Nature simply is, and nature simply does, so the final product of nature apart from any outside tampering, is consistently as it should be according to its creation and purpose.
Knowing that little nugget of information begs the question: why then, if human beings are part of nature, is purpose so elusive and hard to define in most lives?
Without knowing our purpose in life, we are simply a conscious animal trying to move through his or her brief life with as much pleasure and as little pain and suffering as possible.
I knew someone years ago who saw the movie Forrest Gump and had a personal epiphany that she was just like him. I imagine she felt as though she was just moving along through life without a plan or purpose, waiting for things to happen to her. While that worked out pretty well for Mr. Gump in the movie, it generally does not fare well for folks in real life.
Oddly, what nature so simply and effortlessly exemplifies regarding purpose, the majority of humans find very difficult to grasp. Masses of people move through life missing one or more of what I consider three levels of purpose: eternal, temporal and transitory purpose. But the truth is that we need all three to fully and consistently enjoy life. Some have great confidence in their eternal purpose but just seem to move through life without knowing what their temporal or transitional purpose is (Forrest Gump). Some are so focused on their transitory or temporal purpose that they never connect to their eternal purpose in life. The worst case scenario would be those who have no idea what any of the three purposes are for their lives. They are the mushy banana people missing their phloem. They may look good, they may even have great flavor, but when you peel away the superficial layer, they are living empty lives without benefit or enjoyment.
Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever lost sight of your purpose? Have you gone through life merely existing and not really living with a purpose? Well then, you need to find your phloem.
Now don't get me wrong. I don't believe we can control every event life hands us, nor should we make the futile attempt to do so, but to be without purpose in life seems to be a very unsatisfying and drab way to live. Without knowing clearly what our purpose is, when life throws us those forward, sideways or backward “flashes” we discussed in a previous blog, without our sense of purpose in tact, we will not be able to reap the full benefit of the life experience.
Before we explore purpose any deeper, please be aware that if you are an evolutionist or atheist, parts of this may not be agreeable with you. I am a creationist. I believe in God in the threefold person of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. While I believe in the intrinsic scientific process of evolution in that certain aspects of nature evolve over time, I do not believe evolution as a means to explain the beginning of the world or the origin of life. If you are either an evolutionist or atheist, then I do not know what your eternal purpose may be.
We were not created to merely exist. We were not created to just float through life on earth for 70, 80, or 90 years waiting for the ultimate eternal purpose to be fulfilled. We were created to live our lives with purpose for our own enjoyment as well as for the benefit of others. In human life, there is a fundamental need for guiding ideals that give meaning to our actions, says Roger Fisher, director of the Harvard Negotiation Project. If you feel as though the majority of your activities have little or no meaning, then you have probably lost sight of your purpose in life.
While the term purpose is in and of itself very broad, I believe we can break it down into three categories that will help focus a bit:
Even the long stringy things in bananas have a purpose. Aside from being an annoyance to remove every time you peel a banana, the purpose of those annoying long stringy things called Phloem Bundles (pronounced Flom) is to carry nutrients to all parts of the banana during the growth process. Once its purpose is served, the phloem bundles make bananas one of the world’s most perfect and nutritionally complete foods. The banana can then serve its purpose by being consumed by animals (including us) for the enjoyment and benefit of our bodies. Without the long stringy things, all you would have is a flavorful mushy edible treat that has no value when consumed.
The majority of nature functions without the ability or need to question its purposes or subsequent use. Nature simply is, and nature simply does, so the final product of nature apart from any outside tampering, is consistently as it should be according to its creation and purpose.
Knowing that little nugget of information begs the question: why then, if human beings are part of nature, is purpose so elusive and hard to define in most lives?
Without knowing our purpose in life, we are simply a conscious animal trying to move through his or her brief life with as much pleasure and as little pain and suffering as possible.
I knew someone years ago who saw the movie Forrest Gump and had a personal epiphany that she was just like him. I imagine she felt as though she was just moving along through life without a plan or purpose, waiting for things to happen to her. While that worked out pretty well for Mr. Gump in the movie, it generally does not fare well for folks in real life.
Oddly, what nature so simply and effortlessly exemplifies regarding purpose, the majority of humans find very difficult to grasp. Masses of people move through life missing one or more of what I consider three levels of purpose: eternal, temporal and transitory purpose. But the truth is that we need all three to fully and consistently enjoy life. Some have great confidence in their eternal purpose but just seem to move through life without knowing what their temporal or transitional purpose is (Forrest Gump). Some are so focused on their transitory or temporal purpose that they never connect to their eternal purpose in life. The worst case scenario would be those who have no idea what any of the three purposes are for their lives. They are the mushy banana people missing their phloem. They may look good, they may even have great flavor, but when you peel away the superficial layer, they are living empty lives without benefit or enjoyment.
Now don't get me wrong. I don't believe we can control every event life hands us, nor should we make the futile attempt to do so, but to be without purpose in life seems to be a very unsatisfying and drab way to live. Without knowing clearly what our purpose is, when life throws us those forward, sideways or backward “flashes” we discussed in a previous blog, without our sense of purpose in tact, we will not be able to reap the full benefit of the life experience.
Before we explore purpose any deeper, please be aware that if you are an evolutionist or atheist, parts of this may not be agreeable with you. I am a creationist. I believe in God in the threefold person of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. While I believe in the intrinsic scientific process of evolution in that certain aspects of nature evolve over time, I do not believe evolution as a means to explain the beginning of the world or the origin of life. If you are either an evolutionist or atheist, then I do not know what your eternal purpose may be.
We were not created to merely exist. We were not created to just float through life on earth for 70, 80, or 90 years waiting for the ultimate eternal purpose to be fulfilled. We were created to live our lives with purpose for our own enjoyment as well as for the benefit of others. In human life, there is a fundamental need for guiding ideals that give meaning to our actions, says Roger Fisher, director of the Harvard Negotiation Project. If you feel as though the majority of your activities have little or no meaning, then you have probably lost sight of your purpose in life.
While the term purpose is in and of itself very broad, I believe we can break it down into three categories that will help focus a bit:
Eternal Purpose
The eternal purpose for those that believe in God is simply this: to know and love God, to attain fellowship with Him through the person of Jesus Christ, and to develop and display God’s attributes in our lives for the benefit of others.
Temporal Purpose
Between birth and death the summation of our temporal purpose will depend on the vocational and/or avocational paths we choose, as well as our major life choices (single, married, children, no children, etc.).
Transitory Purpose
This is the purpose found in the short-term aspects of our lives or our immediate situations. In daily living we will find new and unique purposes with every occasion of life. Each situation that we experience should be viewed in light of our temporal and eternal purpose, which will help to define the purpose in our immediate experiences.
While, I cannot tell you what your purpose is beyond what I believe is the eternal purpose for everyone (but that is a great head start!), just as nature is created with specific purpose that serves others so are you. Your individual purpose is uniquely related to family, community and world. If you do not feel connected to any of these things, then you have lost or perhaps never found your sense of purpose.
Amazing things happen when you begin to live your life with purpose. You become more focused, experience greater joy, handle stress better, and in general live life with more ease and peace. Daily life becomes more fulfilling and you feel more connected to the world around you. Success naturally follows people who have a clear purpose because they are not easily swayed or driven to distraction. People who live life with purpose are decisive, creative, confident, passionate, determined, disciplined and devoted.
Now doesn’t living life with purpose sound much better than living life by accident?
While, I cannot tell you what your purpose is beyond what I believe is the eternal purpose for everyone (but that is a great head start!), just as nature is created with specific purpose that serves others so are you. Your individual purpose is uniquely related to family, community and world. If you do not feel connected to any of these things, then you have lost or perhaps never found your sense of purpose.
So, what is the purpose of purpose?
The purpose of purpose
is to give meaning to your life!
The purpose of purpose
is to give meaning to your life!
Now doesn’t living life with purpose sound much better than living life by accident?
Well then, get out there you big bunch of banana heads and
connect with your phloem!
Live life on purpose!
Live life on purpose!
~Solissea
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