Hm.

[peegai]

Does education does truly endow us with happiness? We all work hard to prove our worth in society, but is our happiness only based on if we make the passing grade or not?

I've encountered many people that have made their own large contributions to society -- even more so than me -- and yet they still feel unhappy with themselves. I guess this is due to a lack of acceptance of oneself. Sure, you can study for a degree in I.T., speak many different languages, but the fact remains is that you are trying to find meaning in the existence that you have already deemed as worthless -- as well as the fact that you also need reassurance from others to validate yourself.

I believe that there is more to being human than either being a worker bee for society or simply one of its parasites; there are so many different people in the world, and their own actions contribute to the progression of this world. It doesn't matter about how grand their deeds my be to some, the fact remains is that they are pushing the currents of time forward; they are still an influence.

I don't give a shit if any of this doesn't make sense to some of you, but feel free to comment if it does.

[McGiver]

i agree.

i believe that the most rewarding thing  would be for a person to find the reason for their existence.  i don't believer that everybody gets the chance.

also, i don't think there is anything wrong with someone being a worker bee.  its noble and its necessary.  i just wish that the worker bees of the world were compensated more for their efforts.

i know that your post had more but i am just waking up and so is my brain.  perhaps i will give you more later, perhaps not.

[orbit]

i believe that the most rewarding thing  would be for a person to find the reason for their existence.

I agree -

But then I get all pensive and ask myself, is there only one big reason all humans share for existence? Or maybe there are unique 'reasons' for every individual and we can't really help each other out in finding them.  And is this reason of mine something that is actually out there waiting for me to discover, or is it something inside myself that I create?

There are lots of things I'd like to contribute to this world that could be 'reason's' to exist, but recently I've started to wonder that if I don't take care of the people closest to me first, the rest that I do, no matter how grand, isn't going to be nearly as fulfilling... for me anyway.

Orbit

[McGiver]

Orbit,
first off welcome.  how are you?  fine i hope.

i believe that my personal existence is to lessen the gap between the haves and the have nots.
in that respect i realize that my existence cannot be accomplished without  the aid and support of many more like minded idividuals.

i believe that my purpose in life isn't to be the face of any type of movement, rather a motivator of others to act on their own behalf. 

in an effort to achieve that end i pay attention to human nature (by default and an obsession with sex in my youth).  nonthe less i still find correlations between actions and results.  and i practice different methods each day.

i feel that my whole existence would have been only partially fullfilled if i do not meet this goal, in at least some small way.

[orbit]

Thanks for the welcome. Yes, fine, tired a bit though...

That's cool how once you came up with your purpose you are figuring out ways to achieve it and get better at it.

But how did you come up with your purpose/reason?  It doesn't sound like you just decided one day to be a motivater and/or equalizer (for lack of a better term *heh*)  Was it that you saw you were good at something that needed to be done, or did you see something needed to be done and decided to get good at it? Did your enjoyment of doing it have any effect on your decision?

I remember reading a quote somewhere that said something like the purpose of our lives is where our greatest love and the worlds greatest need meet.

Orbit

[McGiver]

I remember reading a quote somewhere that said something like the purpose of our lives is where our greatest love and the worlds greatest need meet.

this is fairly accurate.

mine involves alot of self loathing at first.  then alot of self appreciation.

in essence, i would say that i spent a great portion of my life (conscious adult life) tearing myself down to a mere skeleten and analyzing myself each and every step of the way.  i hated who i was, i hated being different.  i hated being ignorant of whats normal.

at one point i decided that, wtf was i doing.  i am who i am for some reason.  i decided to stop hating myself and begin to embrace who i am.  acepting my differences as a positive.

i began to rebuild myself (from what i have learned through the tearing down process)  and made decisions about what i am and where my strengths lie.  i decided that it was anti productive (at this point) to dwell on my negatives.  its been done to completion.  i realized that i needed to spend the rest of my existence learning about my strengths and cultivating them.

i remain a social retard, and i don't care.  i have a purpose and i only care about my positives.  i have become completely oblivious to my shortcomings since i no longer care about them.  my purpose is bettering my strengths.

the bottom line goes straight to the heart of the quote above.  i one day developed an enourmous passion for equity.  the passion remains a fire in my belly, raging more and more with each passing day.  its beyong my control.  its who i have become.
and i fear that i will achieve that end by any means necessary.  since i will, i have no doubt about that.  i just wonder how much harm (equal and opposite reactions) will occur during my trek of life.

[orbit]

Yeah, I like that quote. I think I have started to look at my purpose as not just a single fixed goal that can be accomplished, but also a way of approaching life. So not only to think about where I am going, but what also, what should I be doing right now?  I love the way you describe your passion. It's something that I can really relate to, only mine is about creativity - doing it myself and helping others to do it.

Thanks for sharing how you've come out of that place of 'self-hate'.    Sounds like a familiar process that I've been going through for the past 4 years or so. My perceptions of  my shortcomings/talents has also changed recently (and is still changing).

You know what's funny though? I've grown up thinking I was a 'social retard' and the more I accept that I am eccentric and some people get it and some don't, and it's okay to need so much time alone and not to like parties or to not understand 'the game' or to loath small talk etc., the easier it is for me to be social and feel comfortable around other people and the better they respond. 

Orbit

[RobertN]

Peegai, that is the first sensible thing you have said in a long time.

In short, I agree.