Purpose and Meaning

If you're like me you will have noticed, in yourself or in others, the eternal and elementary questions about our existence, on this planet in the immeasurable vastness of the universe. What is my Purpose and what Meaning do I attach to my life and my actions. Obviously these are very personal questions and many of us will have different responses to them. We talk about Purpose when we consider what we can do to lead a full life and how our actions serve a higher goal. And when we do so, in return we feel the Meaning of it all, to ourselves and what it might have for others. When asked for my opinion on these matters, my response depends on my mood or state of mind at that moment; I'm only human. My take on these questions ranges from considerations based on science on the one extreme, and at the other extreme on the humanistic approach, where existential issues or opportunities live in the minds and souls of the ones contemplating these.

Finding my Purpose at Woodstock Cave, South Africa

Our place in the universe

"I know I live my life on this small planet, but where do I fit in, what is my role and purpose here? How can my presence have any real meaning?" This question prompted me to share some words.

To get a perspective on the position of us humans, as a collective, in the biggest picture we can imagine, the universe, it is useful to explore the scientific reasoning. When we observe our place in the universe, a few facts stand out: We, as part of life on Earth do exist, no doubt about that. Therefore we must conclude that at least once the enabling conditions for life were such that it was created successfully. At this point we arrive at the question of who, or what made that life-creation to happen. Science doesn't deal with beliefs, but with facts that can be tested and proven. This inevitably addresses the 'what'-aspect; what caused life to be created. Invoking a God-figure lands us in the beliefs that have roots in the many religions we see today: It cannot be proven, but many people believe that their God did the creating, here on Earth but perhaps also elsewhere, even though for the latter the religious scriptures suggest otherwise, making life unique, throughout the entirety of the universe. This is the 'who'-done it counterpart. It is not my intention to debate the who/what, but rather give insight in the standpoints we take in contemplating life here... and possibly elsewhere in the universe. I will come back to the religious aspects after continuing on the science and bring that to a conclusion.

I mention this scientific reasoning for a purpose: I would argue that if life was created at least once (us!), the chances of it being created uncountable times throughout the universe cannot be other than very close to certainty. This based on the realisation that Earth is an average planet, orbiting an average star, one of the 200 billion stars in our average galaxy, (some having more than one planet suitable for life as we know it, per star) and billions upon billions of galaxies in our portion of the observable universe. Even if the chance of the creation of life per planet is very small, the immense number of candidate planets with life is still equally immense. There's a catch: eventually proving this point through observation is extremely difficult and unlikely to happen any time soon, even though subtle hints have been found recently. And the chances of communication with creatures elsewhere beyond Earth are minute, for various reasons that I won't get in to now. For all practical purposes all this leaves us with a conclusion that I fully support: The universe is almost certainly teeming with life, we don't know what it looks like beyond our own planet, and we will possibly never find out if this is indeed true.

In summary, the scientific arguments tell us that we are not alone. Countless other forms of life exist, some still developing intelligence, and some already on the decline. When we stop and really think about this momentous conclusion, we have a context to answer our original questions about Purpose and Meaning.

For me the scientific reasoning leads to the important realisation that it is totally up to us to safeguard the continuation of life on Earth; there will be no-one else to fix our screw-ups. It should be our Purpose to prevent catastrophic events from happening, to the extent our capability and determination to do so overcome the forces that disable, discourage or sabotage. Efforts to spend huge amounts of resources to 'save humanity from extinction', by colonising other planets are absolutely futile, to the point that those ideas are ridiculous for a multitude of reasons. Pet-projects for the super-rich, who would better devote their money and talent to the betterment of life on Earth, for all, right now. This would be an altruistic Purpose, a gift to the world, and those doing it would find Meaning in their their actions. This can be at any scale; small, large, local, national, international. Somewhat loosely based on scientific principles is educating, on topics like ecology, climate change and bio diversity.

So now I have mentioned Purpose and Meaning mainly in the context of scientific facts. Let me continue with the humanistic approach to finding Purpose and Meaning.

Humans for humanity

Some may have found the scientific line of thought rather bleak in its conclusion that for mere humans it is hard to find Purpose and Meaning, being quite alone in the universe. But just accepting the limitations that science sets in the big picture, on the contrary, will bring us to the realisation that there is a role for us all. Finding Purpose and Meaning can be in the context of just ourselves, and towards others. As an example take this blog-post: for me it gives Purpose to think about this topic, writing my thoughts down and realising that there is a lot of opportunity, ultimately giving personal Meaning, by incrementally improving my stance on myself and life in general. And this crosses over into the realm of helping others to find their Purpose and Meaning.

The opportunities for finding your Purpose are virtually limitless:

The arts, like painting, writing, singing, dance come to mind as activities that can engross us fully. As is mindfully taking care of our body, by cooking healthy meals, and letting go of unhealthy habits. Also setting a schedule for doing mindful activities like yoga, tai chi, chi gong. These examples will bring a personal Purpose, with Meaning attached. Seeking out tranquil places in nature, alone or with good friends, can bring a sense of our place on Earth; as an inspiration for finding Purpose and Meaning.

Each of these examples can also serve as a Purpose towards others, by facilitating or teaching. When we engage with others, without asking anything in return, being altruistic, we will find Meaning in our attitude and help. But the reality is that this happens rather sparsely, and the reason is obvious: Facilitators and teachers who make a living off their talents and passions will have to charge their clients in order to enable them to keep doing what they're called to do. Finding the balance between altruism and setting a fee is a delicate matter. Measuring the 'value' of their offerings depends on many factors (see footnote below). To soften the financial aspect they often use the euphemism 'energy-exchange'. It is up to the client to weigh the expected benefit towards finding Purpose and Meaning, versus their financial burden. I am not alone feeling blessed to live in area, surrounded by people who clearly have found their Purpose, inspiring those who are still looking.

In the section about scientific considerations I mentioned religion to have opinions on the creation of life on Earth. Many people do believe that there's a God responsible for this, and it's not my place to try to convince them otherwise. And in their beliefs they can have a Purpose and receive Meaning in return. And regardless if you're a believer or not, I think that studying religions, and becoming aware of their roles in the past and present is very worthwhile. The same can be said for studying cultures around the world. Recognising the considerable interest in Eastern cultures, specifically in Tantra, shouldn't come as a surprise.

Purpose and Meaning - Concluding remarks

As you will be aware, this is a very broad topic and a lot can be said about it. For many this is all quite intuitive, while for some these concepts don't play an active role in their lives. The latter group may have hard circumstances weighing on their minds, like having to get by with little money to spend, sicknesses, stress, and other hardships. But for those I can say that I hope that they will find their Purpose in life and derive Meaning from their actions, no matter how limited in scope, benefitting others and themselves.

Rob Millenaar

©2025

Footnote - an observation

Some facilitators realise that, given the demand for their offerings by non-locals (mostly Europeans), they have an opportunity to set their fees according to the standards that this audience is used to and can afford. In particular, this is the case for retreats. Not differentiating between the cost for locals and these non-locals makes it harder for the former to afford their participation. Some facilitators offer discounts for locals on request. I recognise the difficulty for these facilitators to find a middle way that make it all-inclusive.