“Why am I here?” “What is my purpose?” “What is God’s will for my life?” “Am I making a difference?” “How will I be remembered?”
I have often asked myself these, and many similar questions. We as humans seem to be programed with an insatiable interest in purpose. We want to accomplish something, we want to be a part of something bigger than ourselves, and we want to know why. We often imagine purpose as something that we must find, discover, or create. Or something that must be bestowed, or given to us by some other entity. But purpose is something that is always with us. It is an integral part of who we are, and we cannot be separated from it.
Consider Water
Water does not strive, it does not desire, and it has no goals. It does not search out its purpose. Simply by behaving according to its own properties, it fulfills its purpose. As a result clouds are formed, canyons are carved, and life is sustained (The water does not aim to accomplish these things, yet they are still accomplished). The purpose of water is to be water.
Consider A Tree
What is the purpose of a tree? Other than to grow and to become a perfect manifestation of itself? There is none. A tree does not desire to make a name for itself. It does not try to make the world a better place. A tree is a tree, and that is its purpose.
Can we live like the tree, or the snail, or the bird? With no purpose other than to be ourselves? Is it possible to stop striving, planning, searching and asking? Or is longing for a greater purpose simply part of our nature?
“The Master gives himself up
to whatever the moment brings.
He knows that he is going to die,
and he has nothing left to hold on to:
no illusions in his mind,
no resistances in his body.
He doesn’t think about his actions;
they flow from the core of his being.
He holds nothing back from life;
therefore he is ready for death,
as a man is ready for sleep
after a good day’s work.” ~Lao Tzu
Dadosaurus Rex 
Thank you for the lovely statement about water just being water. Water doesn’t label its experience as it moves around and through what is around it; it just moves, patiently finding a way. Often we associate purpose with meaning, and meaning with words, yet words are not the experience or the meaning they attempt to describe; these two things (meaning and purpose) cannot be described fully by words because each has subjective, ineffable, and intangible aspects. Yet words are, at times, necessary although have their limits. Should we give up trying to describe meaning and purpose in words and just live them?
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I think there may be a point that we can mature to where we no longer need to describe meaning and purpose with words. I am very far from the point, but maybe some are closer.
““The fish trap exists because of the fish. Once you’ve gotten the fish you can forget the trap. The rabbit snare exists because of the rabbit. Once you’ve gotten the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words exist because of meaning. Once you’ve gotten the meaning, you can forget the words. Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so I can talk with him?” ~Chuang tzu
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