Purpose
The never-ending journey to find the meaning of life.
After the mid-twenties, a question popped into my mind whenever I thought about the future. I know that it’s not just me, everyone goes through this phase of life.
What is the purpose or meaning of life?
At first, I wondered, is this what a mid-life crisis feels like? I asked around, and everyone had such a blunt answer which I couldn’t digest or accept.
All I want to know is:
Is there a reason behind our being?
Where are we going?
What’s the ultimate point?
To the best of my knowledge, these questions have no logical answer. Sure, one can find “meaningful” answers spiritually, but I’m not looking for that.
Maybe it’s because of the influence of my professional characteristics1, I always seek to understand why I'm doing what I'm doing. If I understand the reasoning and rationale behind my work, I can produce a design that matches the requirements.
But when it comes to life, it's not quite that simple. Lately, I've come to see that I've been looking at only one side of the coin. In the context of life, I'm not just a designer; I'm also an artist, I mean we all are. Both roles are two sides of the same coin, creating and interpreting as we go, working with the unknown and the unexpected.
Hmm… I think I need to explain this, right?
Life itself is full of uncertainties. No one, absolutely no one can know what’s going to happen next. We’re all walking in the dark, one step at a time.
Consider the cosmic time scale. The universe began approximately 13.8 billion years ago, and our Earth formed around 4.5 billion years ago. Yet, our known human history, based on civilization, spans only a few thousand years. Doesn't this realization make you wonder about our existence?
We live because we are born. It is up to us to decide how we want to live. The more we think about the purpose and meaning of life, the more we fall into the feeling of existential crisis. Because in simple terms, what I understand is, that life has no purpose or any meaning. Instead, we're just a part of the circle of life. Our existence is temporary, and eventually, we return to the earth.
However, this doesn't mean I’m a nihilist. I believe in creating our own meaning and finding happiness in the journey. One can discover a purpose, by exploring passion, acquiring something that we truly desire, pursuing knowledge, traveling, etc.
I think everyone’s perspective on this can be different. We all understand things at different scales and give them different weights.
I've thought about this a lot. Based on the picture below, I lean mostly towards realism with a bit of pessimism and a quarter of optimism. I'm using this image to show how people can interpret the same situation differently. However, I understand that human perception is even more complex than the image can show.
A small observation
Yesterday, while I was spending time with my nephew, one thought struck my mind. He was playing with a Shape Sorting Block Set.
The objective of the toy is simple. Place each block according to its shape and ensure everything is stacked in the correct color order.
He did three things, which gave me a fresh perspective. I also noticed that as the number of remaining blocks decreased, he started working faster.
He stacked everything in speed without worrying about the color.
Then he took each one out, counted them, giggled, and handed them to me.
Then he rearranged everything in the correct color order.
My takeaway from these is simple but a little philosophical.
Focus on what truly matters.
Enjoy the moment.
Stay open to learning, unlearning, and relearning.
Perhaps life is like a puzzle?
As we overcome each challenge, the bigger picture may become clearer. With age and experience, we gain clarity about our needs, making it easier to find and pursue what truly matters. In this sense, aren't we all like artists, creating our lives in ways that resonate with us personally?
I’m a designer.