Ask anyone what liberty or freedom means to them
and they will likely say that it is the right to think, speak or act as they will
(within the limits of civil society) and of not being enslaved or imprisoned.
To be free feels natural; most people will say that they are at their most
happy when they experience themselves as being free.
If you were to ask that same person about their
personal code of ethics, a moral code or about virtue ethics, then that person might
have to pause and consider; they might be hesitant to express what that means
to them personally and might call upon religious doctrine which has gone into
plenty of detail about what is necessary for a ‘good or virtuous life’.
Consider for a moment: is an expression of
authentically being who you are in the moment, with everyone and in relation to
every circumstance of life, nothing less than a demonstration of freedom and integrity?
Having an ideal image of who you would like to be,
of who others expect you to be, of what constitutes anything in terms of the
positive virtues, holds up an image in front of you; in as much as it inspires
you into being your ‘best self’, it chips away at your self-esteem and distorts
any semblance of authentic relationship with others.
It is as you are gazing into a reflection of
yourself that you will find yourself encountering obstacles through life, not
because those objects would not have been there otherwise, but because your
attention is divided and this distorts how you are navigating through life.
A question which crops up regularly, particularly
in this modern world, is ‘what is my purpose?’ ~ ‘why am I here?’ or ‘what am I
supposed to be doing?’
Let us try a couple of answers. How about ‘to find
and express what it is that gives your life meaning’, ‘to find and pursue your
highest joy’ or ‘to find your unique talent in the world and to express that’.
Of course, there is always the position of ‘there is no purpose or meaning to
life, dummy, just get on with surviving in this dog-eat-dog world and outsmart
the next sucker’.
The greater the level of diversity and complexity
in the world, the more confusing the choices can appear and also the more
certain once you have chosen.
Always, there is an impression that life is like a
blank slate that is simply waiting for you to recognise and utilise it.
In a
previous blog, I had written, “Consider
that meaning is not something that we can attribute or put into words but is an
ongoing experience of life. When we are struggling to find meaning in life or
to comprehend why events are as they are, we have lost touch with simply being
in the moment. So we create a sense of purpose or else we give up trying.”
Would it sound, well either a little ‘woo-woo’ or just
plain ordinary, to suggest that your purpose in life, in fact any purpose in
life, is to locate the source of your authentic self? It shouldn’t, because being
authentic is not something that many people find easy to accomplish – they may
only have glimpsed this level of being-ness or been able to express it a couple
of times and certainly not moment by moment consistently. The Buddhist concept
of mindfulness helps to bring people into awareness of this aspect of their
being and it is positioned as being the source of right relationship and
conduct in the world.
Yes, but isn’t there something that I am supposed
to be doing - some greater purpose, you might ask, whilst it is that I am
trying to locate my authentic self – or even after I’ve found it? I don’t think
I can be happy, you see, until I’ve found that…
Remember in the Gospel of Thomas, the disciples said to Jesus,
"Tell us, how will our end come?" and Jesus replied, "Have
you found the beginning, then, that you are looking for the end? You see, the
end will be where the beginning is.”
My impression is that Jesus
received many questions from his disciples that had an origin in perceiving
life from the perspective of the physical or material world and to do with
locating or recognising the Kingdom. Also that Jesus answered in such a way as
to encourage his disciples to become aware of how to perceive life authentically.
Many people have interpreted some of what he said to infer that a transcendent
or eternal life has greater value and purpose than the material realm. This
interpretation emerges from the perception that life consists of realms which are
not only separate from one another but that life itself can be appropriated in
terms of having some designated value.
It is an inescapable awareness of an impermanence
of life that is what can generate a sense of urgency in an individual; of finding
a purpose that is tangible enough or is great enough so that they can find
peace in knowing that their presence had value and that their contribution was
of benefit to others.
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