Purpose. It's all about purpose. In any given day of our lives we see countless other human beings, each one with their own story, their own past and future, their own track from the before to the after. In every city, in every country. In every decade of every century dating back thousands of years. All these people, all these unique stories. All with one common theme. Purpose.
It burnt deep in us, that search for purpose. It burnt deep, and we made up all kinds of things to soothe it.
We made up destinies - our purpose is out there and we will fulfil it, unquestionably.
We made up quests - our purpose is out there and we will fulfil it, hopefully.
We made up priests and oracles - our purpose is out there and it will be given to us.
We made up sacred texts - our purpose is in here and we can easily reference it.
We made up patriotism - our purpose is in our land.
We made up kings and nobility - our purpose is decided for us by higher powers.
We made up family tradition - our purpose is decided by where we are born.
We made up idealistic love - our purpose is in other people.
We made up governments - our purpose is decided for us by entrusted people.
We made up democracy - our purpose is decided by the majority.
We made up consumerism- our purpose can be easily purchased in ten easy instalments.
From paradigm to paradigm we shift throughout the ages, trying new approaches and new techniques to answering that one ubiquitous question - what is my purpose? Do any of these paradigms work, or are they just a temporary fix to a permanent problem?
Perhaps we should stop the charade and decide there is no "our" purpose, but my purpose and your purpose, and his purpose and her purpose. Perhaps one day we'll realise that our purpose is perpetually pulsating and in no way constant. Perhaps one day we'll realise all these idols we've constructed are nothing but a fleeting sating of our hunger for purpose. Perhaps one day we'll realise that the only constant in anyone's search for meaning is the search and not the meaning.
The Hunt. The Hunt which we are all born into. The Hunt which takes us from one idol to the next but never stops pressing, never leaves the backs of our minds where it lurks and plots and schemes and contrives to cast our whole world into doubt as it pulls who we love away from us and what we hate towards us. The Hunt which constantly reshuffles the world around us, moving all the elaborate, distinct components of the human polygon around and around with us as just another part of the carousel.
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