What’s Your Purpose in Life?
Life doesn’t require to be big to make it beautiful.
A mayfly is one such insect having one of the shortest lifespan in the history of evolution. An adult may live for a few hours to few days. Yet, it has a purpose to fulfill. A few hours enough to find a mate and reproduce, become nutrition for vital ecosystems, being the reason for others’ survival and takes the cycle forward. It itself doesn’t even last to watch a sunset most of times but enables others to experience sunsets and sunrise multiple times throughout their lives.
Its existence even though for a day has immense influence on others. That is the purpose, what makes the life beautiful.
Historic young leaders like Swami Vivekananda and more themselves survived till their thirties, but became the inspiration for many young ones in contemporary world and continue to be, so that they could live with no regrets.
That’s been his purpose, an ambitious life with no regrets can be beautiful.
The beauty is not in aesthetics rather the impression that leave someone in utter peace with happiness.
Cherry Blossoms in spring and first snowfall of winter may appease someone to the extent and in ways we can’t even imagine, leaving them awestruck and forget about all of their worries in one-go.
That is their purpose to fill their spectators’ mind and soul with soothing calmness and love.
What is Beauty? What makes a life beautiful?
Beauty is anything that inspires us, gives us impetus to appreciate life, prepares us to pursue our goals, calms us down when we are full of anger.
It aligns the mind with heart, body with soul and conscious with subconscious.
All above traits are implied in a beautiful life.
If we are angry, we’ll not appreciate what we have. But if we are calm and loving, we will appreciate even the tiniest moments that we sent in past with our beloved.
Beauty can be momentary. It is the state of mind that makes one’s life beautiful.
A Top conglomerate indulged in day-to-day business trips does not have time for his people but he’s ambitious enough to know what he aspires. His constant pursuing his aspiration and his attitude towards his work makes his life beautiful.
I went to an ashram recently in Ujjain (an historic and religious center in India). I met many people there who visited that holy place for their physical and emotional well-being. Many were agonizing about their full of struggles life. They didn’t pray for a long life but for healthy, happy life even though short.
A too big life doesn’t guarantee a beautiful life.
Longevity is not what defines a beautiful life but the virtues and attributes that we live our life with.
Good health, loving relationships and alignment of happy mind-body-soul is what makes a life beautiful.
A monotonous but peaceful life is rejected by adventure seekers. For many, regular risk-taking attitude where your survival instincts kick in work fine. It showcases their self-worth and boosts their confidence in life’s major perils.
Having this unique behavior is what makes life for them risky but beautiful.
Bear Grills, a famous risk-lover adventurist, is one of such people.
What is easily accessible is valued less, more difficult the task is the sweetest the fruit would be that we don’t want to miss out cherishing it.
Instability in life makes it full of struggles. A life full of struggles is what makes it more valuable and beautiful.
Too big a life may refer to a life big in terms of status. Too much wealth accumulation can provide you with all the facilities and unnecessary luxuries but what would lack is the purpose and meaning of your life. At one point or the other, you’d want to and need to figure out what actually matters in life.
American Dream of wealth is aspired by many but what lies in the backdrop is a world full with instability, insecurity, jealousy, unethical attributes, greed, self-interests, disappointment, societal pressure, deteriorating lifestyle and loss of peaceful co-existence.
A wealthy life is a choice but not a necessity to make your already existing beautiful life more beautiful.
Lord Buddha (Gautam Buddha), once a cherished prince struggled with his conscience in order to understand purpose and real meaning behind his life. He gave up everything that society gave him. He did not want happiness in a life full of leisure but in solving and abating the suffering of people.
Happiness is subjective so is the definition of a beautiful life.
A paper-Industry worker would find life beautiful if he could take care of his family’s needs by falling down trees that could be life for others while another person would think of all those stakeholders whose lives become beautiful because of one such tree. Birds thriving, squirrels residing in the trunks, caterpillers feeding full fledgedly on its leaves, animals and humans dependent for fruits, meds, and other products. Substituting all their happiness with his family’s happiness won’t justify the definition of his beautiful life.
Bodhisattvas themselves found the purpose of their lives in helping others to come out of the cursed cycle. They sacrificed their Nirvana attainment for transforming others’ sorrows into happiness.
Sacrificing for others’ and delaying your goal achievement to make someone else’s life easy is the definition of a beautiful for some.
Similarly Jain monks found their meaning of life in bearing hardships but not sabotaging even a single microbe’s life.
In modern world, a beautiful life seeks a person who wants to make his life beautiful.
A student can make his life beautiful if he studies hard and aces every examination he sits in.
A mother can make her life beautiful if she can manage to make her family happy.
A teacher seeks beauty in life if she can make her family happy while a politician’s definition of beautiful life lies in the happiness of his subjects.
Self-satisfaction with selfless motive is what makes a life beautiful.
Mother Teresa giving her service for the downtrodden section of society for humanity’s sake and Nelson Mandela’s fighting for justice for his people.
Mere existing is what everyone is doing but existing with a strong sense of meaning and purpose behind your life is what makes life beautiful.
From Ants and bees to Humans and already exited dinosaurs all have been living life but their actions in one way or the other impacts the whole nature.
Everything in concurrence and everything in making and destructing, makes a life beautiful. Having a strong sense of purpose consciously or subconsciously makes entire universe beautiful.
“Dwell on the beauty of life
watch the stars and
see yourself running with them”
~Marcus Aurelius
Above quote signifies the meaning of ‘Go with the Flow’ phrase.
Keep moving, stop and look around if there is anyone to help and anything to do that justifies your existence, and start moving again.
This flow makes the life rhythmic.
A Balanced approach is a life full with conviction, humanity, good health, peace, and you have what you need.
A beautiful life isn’t measured by how big or wealthy it is but the purpose you achieve. It makes life worth living once more.
~Nisha Bhatele
