The Purpose in Life. The point of it all
God is awesome.
Let me just tell you all that before I get started. And I realize that you have no idea what those three words, composed of twelve letters of the english alphabet, are supposed to represent. You can only imagine based on what is in your head. But I'm still going to tell you all that and I'll let you decide exactly how wide you open your head to let the concept of "God is awesome" soak in.
Because He is really, phenomenally, and indubitably the most awesome person ever. And that's not just some whacked out Bible thumper or some crack-attacking Christian zombie saying that. I am currently a Philosophy major. While you may not understand the significance of that statement within the context of this journal entry, let me just put it this way: a man that I trust quite a lot said that if you could still believe in God after getting a degree in Philosophy, that "that'd be something." So when I say that God is awesome, I want you to understand that there is a lot behind that statement. It is an unbiased, quite questioning, highly skeptical person proclaiming that fact.
Now, onto the journal entry.
I was talking with my friend Matt about the purpose in having a particular career. I have recently been considering going into game design as a career. And part of me, a very powerful part of me, just could not get past the idea that maybe game design isn't quite the glorious and magnificent "life that would be worth living" that I would seek to have. And Matt, being well-intentioned, tried to get me to understand something, but just didn't have the words to get through to me. Did I mention God's awesome? Because He is -- get ready for this.
So, I'm still up into the night, wrestling with life, and the meaning of it. The role of purpose and the "point" of things, and even after speaking with Matt, I find no resolution to the dilemma. So I go to my Dad. I go to God. And I couldn't ask for a better Dad. He has this A.D.D. son that can be such a pain sometimes, and He knows just how to get through to him. So I'm praying, and I find myself out in the living room. I'm sitting on the couch, in the middle of the night, and I'm praying, and I just get a kind of feeling to turn on the TV. At first I suspect myself of getting impatient while praying, as my A.D.D. self sometimes gets. But then I realize that it's probably God leading me, and that I should just "go with the flow.," knowing that I'll be led away from it if it turns out that turning on the TV wasn't what I was supposed to do. And after watching an episode of Conan O'Brian, the purpose of which I still do not know, I remember that I had set up the DVR to record a movie that I hadn't seen yet that I'd always wanted to see. The title of the movie is Jack, and it stars Robin Williams.
Yup.
Remember the 'God is awesome' part? Yeah.... You see, I enjoyed the movie a lot, but it wasn't until the end of it that I remembered that I had gone into this movie as part of an effort to get some answers from my Dad/God. And at that point, things went *CLICK*. What I had not understood before, I understand now. How profound the lesson in that movie is. I doubt that those who made the film even realized the potency of the message.
Here I had been, wondering how I could possibly go make videogames for a living, and have all kinds of things go my way, when I knew that there was so much suffering in the world. I could sacrifice at least some small part of myself to go and help them, couldn't I? And all these other people that I've seen who hate their jobs, or at least find them unfulfilling, what about them? I'd feel guilty having what I consider to be just about the best life that I could have when they were all left behind, not enjoying theirs as much. This is the direct lesson that Jack taught me:Never ask a child what they want to be when they grow up. Ask the child WHO they want to be, the kind of person that they want to be, when they grow up. And the person asking should understand that, too, not just the child that they're asking. Do what you ENJOY doing, not what might serve some end somewhere or something.
What God taught me, through watching that film, and in addition to the lesson that the film directly taught me, was this: this is your life. It's the only one that you've got here on Earth, and it's far, far shorter than you think it is. Let's not even get into whether or not you'll make it to old age or not. Let's just assume the unlikely, and assume that you will make it to old age. Even still, it will be too short. Your life is this tiny, precious, fragile, easily breakable, and death-prone thing that is just so rare and valuable that it's hard to get your mind around it. How could it possibly be justified, through unselfish thinking, to believe that you should just enjoy life as much as you can, live, laugh, and love while you still can? Because while there is a world in pain out there, they're not your problem unless you want them to be your problem. You are not your brother's keeper unless you choose to be. And your life is so very precious, there is absolutely nothing wrong with living, laughing, and loving being the POINT of you being alive. Your PURPOSE. Life's purpose isn't an achievement of some kind - it's a way of living. It's about relationships, specifically, loving people. Loving God, loving yourself, and loving others. If you're on top of those things, then do. not. fret. All is well. You are blessed. Enjoy it. Don't shrug it off as though it will freely and easily come back to you after you abandon it. No matter how noble the idea, do not sacrifice your life unless you are absolutely sure that that is exactly what you WANT to do.
Go watch Jack. And pray. And come to know the meaning and the purpose and the context of your life.
Let me just tell you all that before I get started. And I realize that you have no idea what those three words, composed of twelve letters of the english alphabet, are supposed to represent. You can only imagine based on what is in your head. But I'm still going to tell you all that and I'll let you decide exactly how wide you open your head to let the concept of "God is awesome" soak in.
Because He is really, phenomenally, and indubitably the most awesome person ever. And that's not just some whacked out Bible thumper or some crack-attacking Christian zombie saying that. I am currently a Philosophy major. While you may not understand the significance of that statement within the context of this journal entry, let me just put it this way: a man that I trust quite a lot said that if you could still believe in God after getting a degree in Philosophy, that "that'd be something." So when I say that God is awesome, I want you to understand that there is a lot behind that statement. It is an unbiased, quite questioning, highly skeptical person proclaiming that fact.
Now, onto the journal entry.
I was talking with my friend Matt about the purpose in having a particular career. I have recently been considering going into game design as a career. And part of me, a very powerful part of me, just could not get past the idea that maybe game design isn't quite the glorious and magnificent "life that would be worth living" that I would seek to have. And Matt, being well-intentioned, tried to get me to understand something, but just didn't have the words to get through to me. Did I mention God's awesome? Because He is -- get ready for this.
So, I'm still up into the night, wrestling with life, and the meaning of it. The role of purpose and the "point" of things, and even after speaking with Matt, I find no resolution to the dilemma. So I go to my Dad. I go to God. And I couldn't ask for a better Dad. He has this A.D.D. son that can be such a pain sometimes, and He knows just how to get through to him. So I'm praying, and I find myself out in the living room. I'm sitting on the couch, in the middle of the night, and I'm praying, and I just get a kind of feeling to turn on the TV. At first I suspect myself of getting impatient while praying, as my A.D.D. self sometimes gets. But then I realize that it's probably God leading me, and that I should just "go with the flow.," knowing that I'll be led away from it if it turns out that turning on the TV wasn't what I was supposed to do. And after watching an episode of Conan O'Brian, the purpose of which I still do not know, I remember that I had set up the DVR to record a movie that I hadn't seen yet that I'd always wanted to see. The title of the movie is Jack, and it stars Robin Williams.
Yup.
Remember the 'God is awesome' part? Yeah.... You see, I enjoyed the movie a lot, but it wasn't until the end of it that I remembered that I had gone into this movie as part of an effort to get some answers from my Dad/God. And at that point, things went *CLICK*. What I had not understood before, I understand now. How profound the lesson in that movie is. I doubt that those who made the film even realized the potency of the message.
Here I had been, wondering how I could possibly go make videogames for a living, and have all kinds of things go my way, when I knew that there was so much suffering in the world. I could sacrifice at least some small part of myself to go and help them, couldn't I? And all these other people that I've seen who hate their jobs, or at least find them unfulfilling, what about them? I'd feel guilty having what I consider to be just about the best life that I could have when they were all left behind, not enjoying theirs as much. This is the direct lesson that Jack taught me:Never ask a child what they want to be when they grow up. Ask the child WHO they want to be, the kind of person that they want to be, when they grow up. And the person asking should understand that, too, not just the child that they're asking. Do what you ENJOY doing, not what might serve some end somewhere or something.
What God taught me, through watching that film, and in addition to the lesson that the film directly taught me, was this: this is your life. It's the only one that you've got here on Earth, and it's far, far shorter than you think it is. Let's not even get into whether or not you'll make it to old age or not. Let's just assume the unlikely, and assume that you will make it to old age. Even still, it will be too short. Your life is this tiny, precious, fragile, easily breakable, and death-prone thing that is just so rare and valuable that it's hard to get your mind around it. How could it possibly be justified, through unselfish thinking, to believe that you should just enjoy life as much as you can, live, laugh, and love while you still can? Because while there is a world in pain out there, they're not your problem unless you want them to be your problem. You are not your brother's keeper unless you choose to be. And your life is so very precious, there is absolutely nothing wrong with living, laughing, and loving being the POINT of you being alive. Your PURPOSE. Life's purpose isn't an achievement of some kind - it's a way of living. It's about relationships, specifically, loving people. Loving God, loving yourself, and loving others. If you're on top of those things, then do. not. fret. All is well. You are blessed. Enjoy it. Don't shrug it off as though it will freely and easily come back to you after you abandon it. No matter how noble the idea, do not sacrifice your life unless you are absolutely sure that that is exactly what you WANT to do.
Go watch Jack. And pray. And come to know the meaning and the purpose and the context of your life.
posted by Angel at 7/22/2006 08:40:00 AM
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