I was talking to a friend who asked me what I thought the purpose of life was. After a brief discussion, she responded that the purpose of life is happiness.
She led me to a video (located at the bottom) that I found pretty interesting.
Here are a few quotes from the video that I found meaningful:
Happiness always comes from the inside. It is never given by the outside as it is in us all the time.
Happiness is just a common name for the knowing of our own being — knowing of itself.
A little background: My friend is terminally ill. Her disease (not cancer) will eventually take her life. The medical people tell her she has a year or two to live.
What has impressed me so much is that she is not grieving or depressed, but she is seeking answers and experiences. One of the first things she did was get a pet. She told me she had wanted one for a long time and didn’t want to put it off any longer. Of course, she first made arrangements with someone to take her pet when she passes.
From what I know, my friend has been a dedicated worker all her life. Now, with the short time she has left, she wants to do what she wants without feeling obligated to anything or anyone.
Doesn’t that sound freeing?
Listening to her and thinking about my own life, what am I doing to fulfill my purpose of life as happiness?
A few years back, I reviewed a book called the Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. It was an interesting book as the author devoted each month to another aspect of happiness in her life. Even more interesting, another friend, who also passed away early from a similar disease as my current friend, suggested I read the book.
This revelation really made me think? Two New Thought friends were/are searching for happiness before they die. What does that tell you?
Personally, I feel I am fulfilling my purpose of being happy. Maybe I had to experience a fire that burned all my belonging before I really started to look at what happiness is.
Maybe we need to stare at our mortality before we start thinking about what happiness means. Gee, I hope that is not the case.
One thing is for sure, though, thinking about this and discussing it with my two friends makes me even more determined to prioritize pursuing happiness in my life.
How about you?
Here is the video my friend recommended: