What is the single most important purpose of your existence?

I don’t really think I have an important purpose as much as I believe I am purpose.
Don’t ask me to explain…I can’t…!

Existence, life, and all the love and relationships and joy life contains are precious. What’s so wrong about living just for that, for those things?

Sounds pretentious, but yea, saving the world and junk. Not me alone personally, but what I worked towards is, basically, a part of saving the world. At the very least, saving a lot of people (human and other).

I think that had I been a little more ambitious, I’d be able to solve the Israeli-Palestinian crisis. I really think I could do it – what is stopping me – it’s complicated.

But to answer the OP, my single most important purpose, barring that, is raising my kids to the best of my abilities, and taking care of myself – so they’ll have as great a dad as I can be.

My purpose was to adopt and be the mom to the 2 kids I have. I wasn’t my intention to adopt but just to do fostercare but it just happened that way and I believe it was meant to be that way.

To get as many copies of my genes into the next generation as possible.

@incendiary_dan Many of us want to change the world. It is not pretentious. But we, many of us, disagree on the best way to go about changing the world. I think you and I disagree on that matter.

@lillycoyote I think several people on this site assume they know my approach when I’ve said scant little of it.

@incendiary_dan And yet I think I have some inkling as to your approach. Go figure. How is that possible? You have actually said a fair number of things about this, one way or another. What is it that you think people, myself included, seem to be misunderstanding or getting wrong?

It used to be grocery shopping. HS the world came to an end if there wasn’t milk or sandwich fixins. Now I am here in this world to let the dog out. BRB.

@lillycoyote Well, I might be able to add more later when I haven’t been up for over 24 hours straight, but for now I’ll mention a recent occasion when someone accused me of judging people for their lifestyles and telling them to all go live in the woods without technology, which I have never done. It’s kind of one of the recurring assumptions anyone anywhere near primitivism gets, so I wasn’t particularly surprised. Folks on the left in general are really keen on overlooking any other form of activism you do (social justice, radical pro-feminism, anti-racism, etc.) when you’re also anti-civ. Must be a defense mechanism.

For more, I think you might get a chance to see a fuller explanation soon.

Why, to hang out on Fluther and give brilliant (and sometimes sarcastic) answers, of course!

I believe human are part of nature thus the purpose of our very existence other than surviving as a species is keeping the balance of cycle of nature. But since human aren’t that dependent on nature anymore as we did when we were still primitive we have built our own society outside the range of nature and food chain.

My point is, when we were still primitive, we were just like any other species that keep the earth and all living creature in it in order. We eat, eaten, die, etc may sound normal and has no meaning but actually that is part of nature as we keep the population of another species, giving resources back to nature, allowing the world to grow and evolve (even though the earth isn’t alive I believe it has the ability to preserve itself, that’s why there’s atmosphere, O2, living creatures, etc to keep the cycle of its preservation).

Just to be.

@lillycoyote

“But we, many of us, disagree on the best way to go about changing the world.”

Absolutely. This is exactly why I believe in representative constitutional democracy divided into state, county, and local governmental bodies each of which decrease in authority as they move away from the individual.

There will always be disagreements about how best to handle things and much of the time those differences of opinion are regional/cultural. Of course, there does need to be an overall governing body to regulate those things that are in the common interest. But the scope of said body needs to be bound by constitutional ideals and generally stay the heck out of the business of “broad brush” regulation and enforcement.

IMHO, such a system beats the hell out of an authoritarian one where there is little opportunity to argue with big daddy government and even less opportunity to find a community that shares your ideals if you don’t agree with the way things are being run in your local.

Just thought of something…

…as everything I do has purpose
by what method would I determine which of those purposes is most important?

To accomplish this would require having a very huge perspective of why things Are
and how they interrelate.

Besides, past experience has made it perfectly clear to me that
I don’t have a clue.

All one need do is reflect upon those time you knew with certainty, you were absolutely right…

…to discover at a later time, they were absolutely wrong.

(I think that revelation falls under the category, “Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time”?)

I now wonder whether a purpoise ever wonders if it has a purpose. I think mine is to keep breathing as much as I can and as long as I can.

@mazingerz88 Best purpose I’ve heard so far.

To do what needs doing.

But strangely, the less I’m involved, the better that goes. Too much “me” in there, working on “my” agenda, and the whole thing gets mucked up.

The best way I’ve heard it stated is, “Doing nothing, but leaving nothing undone”

It’s kinda like a ride my special purpose

I’m still trying to figure that one out, at the moment all I seem to do is eat, sleep & work… I must be making my mark somewhere??,, next weekend I think I’ll be saving the world, unless I get a day off work, then in that case I’ll just have to put it off until I’ve tidied up the garden :-/

To serve.

Hard question for me. Where is that darn @Coloma ? I guess there is neither no purpose for our being here or reincarnation is involved. And if reincarnation is the purpose, we’re supposed to
evolve into being as “God like” as possible, giving of ourselves, spreading love and becoming more like Him. Which should take me at least a few more weeks. Because I’m not feeling God like right now unless God throws computers and certain persons out of windows.

To fight crime in a purple cape and stretchy pants.

To be of service and to take care of those who depend on me, need me and are entrusted to my care (not necessarily the same thing). I can appreciate that my life has meaning when I know that the life of someone else would be poorer if I weren’t there.

To warn people of the hidden peril that lies in grilled cheese.

External ‘purpose’ is ever changing. At one time my purpose was to be a child, then a parent, on & on.

ETERNAL purpose is to simply, be aware of our awareness, be conscious, know ourselves, beyond form, as eternal and formless. :-)

@Coloma Well said.

Most of my ambitions that I may have had, or currently have, as far as existing for more than what it may initially seem…are based on delusion. :)

I see that now. There are no terminators.

To explore and develop any talents I have, thus enriching my life. By extension I will enrich others.

To be. And to help animals.

I don’t believe that there is any purpose of being, it is all a random part of the Universe.

My purpose is to prove to people that you can walk on hot coals, but not get burned.
not literally

My purpose is to help others who have been through the same problems I have. I want to help women and children who struggle through abuse and neglect so they can create a better life for themselves.

I feel like my main purpose is to raise my children to be decent human beings. There’s one of me, three of them. If they continue on with that purpose, and their children do the same, and so on, we’ll be ever increasing the number of decent people in the world. Ripples in a pond, baby.

Managing Fluther feels like a big purpose to me, too. I may just be deluding myself on that one, though. ;)