Purpose in Life, Its Importance and Meaning

Finding purpose in life (essay)

Majority of attitudes through the religious view is that the purpose of our lives is to improve oneself through God's guidance and worship. Islam is a prime example of this concept as they have the obligation of Salah. There are many objectives that create the fundamentals of Islam and if you achieve these you have fulfilled your purpose; leading a successful life that will grant you reward in the hereafter. Life has been granted so that you may experience cherished moments with your loved ones while abiding by your religious duties. Buddhists contradict this notion as they believe in reincarnation. Unless they are able to achieve Enlightenment, they will continue to be reborn however, intentional actions in this life will affect their next life so it is influential on the steps they take on the path of life. From these two examples of religions, you can establish the purpose of life through a religious individual as they are centred around their beliefs. Their beliefs act as the foremost foundations for their journey of existence and they should aim to act upon the faith as they have been instructed to do so.

Religion acts as a means of structure and guidance in life which gives an individual a family and feeling of belonging. Without structure it is fairly easy to lose one's self and one's purpose. Therefore, to not follow a religion puts the onus on the individual to find their place in life themselves which for some can be proven very difficult. For others it's as simple as finding where you belong. To feel like you belong gives you purpose in life.

For those that do not believe in or follow any form of religious worship or construct, they are often seen as without purpose and lost. Some are able to find their own purpose in life that is not associated with religion. Those that do not find a purpose are considered to be lost and wandering through life aimlessly. The purpose of life to this category of people without religion, the atheists, is subjective. It can be argued that the purpose of life should be found in purely selfish needs and desires or in being selfless and caring. The act of being selfless, charitable and helping others gives one purpose in life. On the contrary, the selfish think that their purpose in life is to feed their own wants and needs before all else. These people are often self-centred and oblivious to the emotions of others. Religion lays down boundaries and a roadmap to having a positive and rewarding purpose in life. Often suited to those who would benefit from structure. This would explain why many convicts find they come into religion whilst in prison; they suddenly find a sense of belonging and purpose.

Meaning and happiness are experienced at odds with each other. Happiness is largely about the present and the former is about the future or rather, about linking past, present and future to culminate some semblance of meaning. Although they diverge in this sense, they also tend to naturally overlap when discussing life's purpose. Perhaps some degree of meaning is a prerequisite for happiness, it may be argued to be a necessary condition as they coincide. However it poses the question that; if meaning isn't needed then why would people ever live a life that is more meaningful than happy?

This begins to suggest a theory for why some care so much about meaning. Happiness seems to be focused more on the present than anything which makes it temporary and so people enact this idea of making happiness last whereas meaning extends into the future and the past is stable and defined. For this particular reason, people tend to think that pursuing a life that is meaningful will allow them to be happy in the long run. People view happiness as something that can only be felt momentarily and therefore cannot depend upon and so question life's purpose if meaning is supposedly lasting and can eventually establish a basis for this happiness they wish to seek.

In essence the purpose of life is multi-faceted and intricately designed on an individual basis. Every person's reason for being is influenced and characterised by their immediate social, economic, religious and general attitude to life. It is no secret that religion is a major contributor to the feelings much of the world's population has about its existence. That explains why many debates about the purpose of life are centred around religion. As presented in this piece we can establish that our purpose in life is not defined by any single factor but an amalgamation of many.