The purpose of life?
This is certainly bold, isn’t it? I imagine many people
would be skeptical in hearing that someone claims to have any insight into their purpose of life. I would be. I am.
It’s so subjective, for one, and there are so many ways of
looking at it, questioning it. Did some deity assign my purpose of life? Do I
choose it at some point, or just fall into it? Is there really any purpose to
life at all? It’s not particularly difficult to make the case that we are
simply organic machines, bent on survival and reproduction alone. But that is,
in itself, a purpose of sorts.
As impenetrable as it may seem, the topic holds universal
appeal. It’s a question humanity has asked itself time and time again, which
makes it even more difficult to accept that here and now, someone figured it
out.
One of the first pages in the satellite, Answers
to “The Purpose/Meaning of Life,” addresses these concerns, and it does so without
discounting the many other approaches or ideas regarding what the “purpose of
life” might be. The myriad ways of approaching our personal purpose—be it
religious or psychological, intellectual or ethical—have their place in the
taxonomy. They are important to human endeavor in some way. This sort of
purpose, as part of the taxonomy, is much more specific, more focused.
Think of it as answering this question: If you had to say
what drives the type of things you do with your free time, what would that be?
Sure, we all have the regular rigmarole to deal with—stay
employed, eat, keep clean, spend time with the family—the normal stuff. But what
makes you happy, and more importantly, what do you feel best doing? I think of
it as what you really want to do when you get off work. Are you itching to hit
the bars and go dancing? Is there a painting you’re working on that you want to
get home and continue working on? Are you off to go volunteer at a soup
kitchen? Did you hear about some new life affirming activity, like yoga or
meditation, and you’re excited to go try it out?
The taxonomy identifies seven distinct “Quests”
and asserts that we all strongly relate to at least one of them. These quests
are our purpose. They are central in our identity. They are why we do what we
do when we have the choice of things to do.
Of course, the taxonomy being what it is, there is a technical,
epistemological rationale for the existence and validity of these quests,
but I don’t want to get into that. My personal experience is what sold me on
these quests. I can think of everyone I know and, with a bit of speculation and
maybe an assumption or two, I get the sense that they fit quite nicely into one
quest or another. Also, it helps to think of the Quests as emerging out of a
taxonomic inquiry rather than someone’s attempt at philosophy or theology.
Furthermore, they are part of a much larger context—the Your Better Self
framework and the taxonomy as a whole. Apparently, much of this framework’s
discovery was quite surprising and unexpected. You can read about Warren
Kinston’s shock and awe at stumbling across parts of this framework in its Background
Story.
The Quests
Reading through the quests reveals fairly straightforward
descriptions, but it forces self-examination. It touches on the “searching”
that, when articulated, is nearly the most succinct description of what if
fundamentally means to be a human being.
We search for pleasure. We search for meaning. We search for
truth. We want to help others. We want to create something new and beautiful.
We want some guiding light to show us the way through life. We want to feel one
with the universe and ourselves and each other.
In a way, every one of us is all of these things. This makes
it hard to self-identify. But again, what most speaks to you? What reminds you
of others you may know?
My Struggles with The
Quests
The Pleasure Quest seems vacuous to me. I acknowledge its
existence. My job used to be to entertain these people. I would play gigs at
bars or festivals or casinos and see them in their element all the time. I even
made close friends with some, but I always wondered how they lived that way
without looking for “something more.”
I am equally repelled by the Obedience Quest. How can
following be at all satisfying?
These sort of highlight THEE diversity
for me. I try not to judge and simply accept The Pleasure and Obedience Quests
as a reality without questioning their value.
I’m a bit confused by the Meaning Quest. THEE says that for
someone on a Meaning Quest, “The Purpose of Life is to find a personal meaning
for existing.” This seems kind of circular. And is it perpetual searching? So,
if you find something that adds meaning to your life—having children or doing
well at your job—is that satisfactory or must you then continue your search?
I think I am on a Meaning Quest—and a Creation Quest
(proving that we can be on two at once as discussed on the THEE page Personal
Combinations). I’ve attached my identity to being a musician, a writer, a
father, a thinking person and various other things. This may be why it’s so
confusing to me; it’s a bit too close to the cuff. And I do personally find it
difficult to be ultimately satisfied—though this may be part of the human
condition.
Interesting Taxonomic
Side-Note
The psychological/social dichotomy is one of the clearest
examples of a THEE oscillating
duality. Level 1, Pleasure Quest, is focused inwards: What makes me feel
good? Level 2, The Meaning Quest, is focused outwards: What social role can I
play that gives my life meaning? Level 3, The Enlightenment Quest, is focused
inward: What within me is a true expression of my “self?” Level 4, The
Salvation Quest, is focused outward: How can I help others? Etc.
There’s a lot of exciting discoveries regarding oscillating
dualities in The
Architecture Room in the TOP Studio. It turns out manipulating them in a
certain way spawns frameworks for overcoming difficulties in life.
Where Further
Exploration Will Take You
Understanding the Quests paves the way for exploring some
fascinating stuff, like how to become a better person, ideas addressed by
religion such as Oneness, divinity and good and evil and how we as a species
can enable a more harmonious communal existence.
These topics might be next on my list of inquiries.
But understanding the quests is necessary to gaining
understanding during deeper inquiries into the Your Better Self framework.
Until next time, happy discoveries.
