What's This Life For?
Back in the late 1990's, a band by the name of "Creed" came out with a song that posed the question, "What's This Life For?" and according to the band, it was a personal question raised after two of the band members experienced the suicide of friends. While the song itself doesn't go much further than the stated question, it is clear that the existential nature of the song struck a nerve with many as it reached the number one position on the Billboard "mainstream rock" chart.
So... it's a good question... what is this life for? I've seen and heard many insightful and perceptive opinions on it and have listened to and read the accounts of many who have a broader and far more in-depth understanding of theology. While I will be the first to say I don't have a clue as to the true nature of our being, I do believe this: there is a purpose for each of us.
First, I don't know much I can share as to the nature of God, Jesus, Yahweh, or any other formed worldview of a higher power. I know there is definitely something after this life but the confusion settles in with the near infinite number of struggles, failures, successes, etc. that every single person who has or is living on this Earth has encountered.
So let’s stop here for a moment, then… and focus on something.
Let’s make the assumption that there is life after death but what that looks like is intentionally left blank by that higher power. Maybe our lack of understanding of it all is intentional and I'm fine with that but knowing that there is a higher power who has potentially assigned each and every person who has, is or will live on this earth, a uniquely different life than any other makes the question, "What's this life for", even more compelling.
In a song “Limelight” by the rock group, Rush, there is a reference to that question that possibly holds a fragment, albeit an important fragment, to the answer we are looking for.
All the world's indeed a stage
We are merely players
Performers and portrayers
Each another's audience outside the gilded cage
Now, according to the band, who penned the song, it borrows from Shakespeare's, "As You Like It" as follows:
All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts...
I've always marveled how on a planet with billions of people, you simply won't find many who share the same exact looks as you and once you dig into the lives of those who appear similar, their lives can vary greatly. Sure, there are twins who have strange and unexplained similarities in their lives but aside from oddities of similar nature, they too will not share the exact same struggles, fears, successes and failures. The uniqueness almost lends itself to a forced effort by a greater power to make sure no two lives are the same. Willful, if you will. :) At this very moment, there may be someone out there who I resemble but it is a very definite assumption that their life has been and likely still is very much different than mine. The uniqueness seems intentional. What if God, (and I will reference a higher power as God for the sake of simplicity, here), has intentionally placed each of us into unique situations for which we live our lives. Although you and I may have shared similar struggles, we still hold vastly different experiences.
Another assumption here but I think we all would agree we each are unique in looks, lives, actions, failures, and more which also means that the lessons we learn, the challenges we overcome, the successes we revel in, form who are in this exact moment. The challenges, failures and successes in our future will likely continue to mold us further. It lends itself to believe that each of us are playing assigned parts in a stage that encompasses our own little portion of the world. Some of us will at some point be in the light while others in the dark. Some will experience joy while others endure pain and at any moment those roles will seemingly without end and that is what we see and defines as life. It will continue on until our lives are done.
To me, it seems plausible that God intended for each of us to experience our own unique set of challenges. While it may seem that one's challenges are harder than others, or that others seemingly have "better lives" than ours, there is not much neither you nor I can do to change much of the circumstances in which we live. Sure, the old adage we hear and probably say to "get an education" or "Learn a skill" helps with the financial aspects of one's life but for many, that can often be a goal out of reach.
Before we can get to my perspective on what this life is for, I feel compelled to explore why some people struggle more with life than others. This perspective that I have held for about 20 years began when Kathy and I decided to foster. We quickly realized just how dramatically different some children's lives can be. The stories of what occurred to cause a state agency to break up a family are, quite often, very much with merit and we would often question how could anyone put their own children in such situations. Let's explore that question for one possible answer that may only apply in unique situations but still remains valid at the end of the conversation.
A strong supportive family life, or a lack thereof, forms the path of your own unique life. How often have we seen people who struggled in their own childhood and then once parents, themselves, unfortunately create a regrettable situation for their children. Once those children mature to adulthood, they too may choose to do things nearly opposite of their parents and still fail. Sometimes they find a way out but there are far too many examples of children who never did. I used a specific example to help explain this to our own children including our foster and adopted children. I used the example of someone stacking up dominos, like in the picture below. Each of us represent one of those dominos, previous generations behind us and future generations in front.
Life may seem simple to those who are born into stable homes, with the ability to rise up through to their maturity with a solid education, love, encouragement, etc. that lead to successful lives. For those who experience a comfortable childhood, lacking in the pains, fears, challenges and even shame for their own family life, it may be a difficult effort to understand that there are others who don't have a life like that. Sure, everyone has challenges in life but for those who never worry where their next meal will come from, may find it surprising that many grow through their entire childhood never knowing what that's like. They will never have a strong parental unit pushing them, guiding them, disciplining them and encouraging them. Without that, a significant lack of hope is formed that leads to despair, fear and ultimately causes them to realize they are without choices and that, as we know, can lead one to lie, cheat, steal, etc.
My point in this diversion in my story is simple: We are all unique and each of us experiences a life that engages us in the good and bad in this world and for some if not many, their negative experiences lead them to a very different swath of the spectrum of life. Not everyone experiences every experience the same but we all live a life of experiences. If anything, this nugget of knowledge should, if we have compassion, a path to empathy, which is, I believe, a part of the experience God wants for us.
So with those thoughts in mind, let’s delve into how, at least for me, the “what” in “what’s this life for”.
I’ve established and I think you might agree that every one of us has a unique life. Everyone has challenges that when met and conquered, allow them wisdom and the ability to overcome similar challenges in their future. Most of us are made aware that hot things burn. Whether you touched a stove as a child or were heavily scolded for getting close to a hot item, you learned hot hurts and not to touch it. That’s a valuable lesson. For parents, we don’t want our children (or anyone’s children) to feel that same pain.
This next part is a part of the reason why I have questioned the purpose of life for the past 58 years.
Some struggle more than others and fail to the point where their lives end before they learn to overcome the failings that lead to their demise. That part has bothered me since my childhood. Why do some babies have incurable medical conditions that leave them in pain, and in some cases, shortened lives? It's a mystery, for sure, but one that I believe is by design. God made this world perfectly imperfect. Predicting any of it is simply impossible over a long period of time. As a retired tv weatherman, I saw many occasions where we thought for sure a specific weather pattern would lead to certain conditions only to have a "busted" forecast. The truth is, we do make mistakes in weather prediction but I point out that we are only going to be as accurate as the data we gather and the wisdom applied to how we derive a forecast. In the game of life, we have far less data to help us to predict the future with our choices. We can listen to our parents, our grandparents, kind-hearted strangers, teachers and leaders for knowledge but in the end, we must live a life of challenges, failures and lessons learned from them. Some learn the lessons of life from strong family units, others from experiences in school but there are many, if not all of us, who learn from the school of hard knocks. We all hope not to have to "attend the school of hard knocks" too often, but some do and sometimes again and again.
So where are we in this conversation? We are all unique and we all have unique lives with equally unique experiences and this leads me to my main point:
Your soul... yes, the thing nobody talks about.
I’m surprised that churches, and religion, for that matter, don’t focus more on the soul. I'm not knocking them but there is such a strong focus on Jesus(or whatever the named creator for each worldview is, that sometimes we miss what the purpose of Jesus' lessons were for. Sure the message was to be good but we get that from the Old Testament through the 10 Commandments, the many lessons taught and even through the failed experiences of so many. Jesus brought about the necessity for the New Testament and that's a very critical point: What was the reason for this new message? Jesus was focused on... your soul. Here are a few examples:
"And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell".
-Matthew 10:28
Here's one from the Quran:
"Say, 'The soul is from the affair of my Lord, and you have not been given knowledge except a little"-Surah Al-Isra (17:85)
So if our earthly bodies are just going to fail us, cause us mortality and then eventually return to dust, then what are we trying to perfect by our actions as guided by teachings of Jesus? I believe Jesus intended for us to recognize what will survive death, our soul.
Some personal corollaries: I believe in life after death. I believe in a higher power. I base these beliefs first on what I was taught in church, school, from my parents and from the world....
...and....
...I also was given a gift through an experience with my son, when he was a toddler. See my other blog post on that experience, here: A Higher Power
...and….
...I believe we all have a soul. It’s that conscious part of our being that thinks, knows, fears, cries, feels joy and most importantly, learns. I also believe the learned lessons in life are the fuel for that which makes us wise as we grow old.
How many of us experience the feeling of loss for a grandparent or parent? Sure there are those who left this world in a mess and for those, that fondness is not present so forgive me on this one but if you have a beloved relationship with someone you lost, it would apply here as well. What was it about that person that made you hurt for their loss? Was it the attention they gave you? The genuine hugs, smiles and kind words? Was it that they liked to visit you? Ok, maybe they gave great gifts at Christmas and your birthday? They may not fit this example then, but all kidding aside, there likely was something that they gave to you that made you feel loved and I believe that is feeling is carried for us from within our souls.
I believe that the beauty of wisdom that we typically gain as we grow older, is part of the soul expressing empathy, kindness and love that we know is so validating for those not at that same point in life.
And… I don’t think our souls are perfect. In fact, I would say “work in progress” should be a sign pinned to the souls of all of us. Imagine if you could see the souls of everyone else and in that ability, we could also see what hurts us, what excites us, our fears, our passions and more? And what if in our ability to see each other’s souls, we were able to better interact. knowing the strengths and weakness of those around us? I believe our souls are “in training” and thus, the “work in progress” signs make better sense. What if every experience enhanced our soul to better understand what others feel when they go through similar experiences? We do that already. A new hire in the office, a new teacher in a classroom, a young engineer in a loud, scary chemical plant. A young mother. A child transferring to a new school far away from their familiar surroundings of home. Every single one of us can relate, in some way, to being new to something. What helps? A mentor? A guide? A friendly face that says, “Hey, I’ve been in your shoes. Let me show you the way!”. What if each of us were simply going through the challenges of life as a mere means to gain experiences, knowledge, wisdom, passion and love to sprout and flourish within our souls?
I believe life is just that.
I do. I believe our lives are a means for us to grow and learn and while the physical being ages, fades and dies, the soul survives. I’m even going to venture a bet that your single life that you experience now, is not the only one. I know some of you may be thinking, “This guy believes in reincarnation”. I don’t feel comfortable putting words to what God has in mind but what if we did get to experience life more than once, to fully grow our souls into what God had in mind for those we refer to as angels? It’s plausible. Remember the first part of what I had written dealt with those who grow up in strong families vs. those who did not? Maybe that experience of life in a poor childhood gains one a specific understanding of others. I know it's a concept that takes time to accept but if you give it some thought, I don't think God is limited in what he does but I also don't think I have to understand it beyond just doing what is good for my soul.
The pieces of life fit better within that definition. The child that dies at birth makes no sense to our “rational” minds but to God, that and every life and death serve a purpose to grow the souls of his children into well-rounded members of his eternal family. The parts some people play are shorter than others.
So… what is this life for? I believe it’s to gain the experiences that perfect our souls. God is very much about the experiences of life and I believe that our purpose in this life, for each and every one of us, is to meet challenges head on. We are here to experience the pain and lessons learned by this beautifully unique life so that we can form a more perfect soul. Beyond that, I haven’t a clue. Much of what I’ve shared here will be ridiculed but that’s fine. My soul is comfortable now that I have put my thoughts and beliefs into words. Nothing is perfect… by design, but your soul becomes more perfect with every emotion you allow it to experience.
I feel bad for people who mask the pains of life with alcohol, drugs and all the various escapisms for they don’t trust that they can overcome them and that stunts the growth of their soul. The best we can do is love them, share with them when they are ready and be examples that maybe they will appreciate, somewhere down the road.
Thank you and your soul for reading this. I hope it was helpful. This is my way of saying I love and appreciate you all. We are on unique journeys and we are better together.
Be Blessed.
-shawn
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