Trendy Question: “WHY ARE WE HERE?”

Having typed “Why are we…” in google, the first suggested search query was “Why are we here?”.

Great question, one I should have anticipated, since it is the question that drives existence and gives meaning to ALL OTHER QUESTIONS!

With Complicated Questions, We Expect Complicated Answers

Many of us have heard it before, but few take advantage of the concept enough:  the most complicated questions often have the SIMPLEST ANSWERS.

At risk of sounding like a ‘cop out’, the answer is quite simple:

Q: “Why are we here?”

A: To pursue the answer to THAT very question.

To be a BIT Less Concise:

As human beings, we often consciously (or subconsciously) “need” specificity in our day to day.  Many of us approach life like a series of tasks – interwoven with a few great moments of down-time (vacations, hobbies, etc.).  This question has existed, and will continue to exist, for all ‘active participants’ of life’s journey — the ultimate answer will be like an infinite jolt of ‘aha moments’.  The jolt will not be due to the answer itself, it will be due to the awareness each individual has in one instance – as they understand the very reason they could not arrive at the answer during their journey.

The most important thing an individual can do is to “overcome the need to ask the question”.  Our awareness to greater truths is most clear when we calm our minds.  As we pursue the answer to this question —- we find that there are many roads to take up one mountain top, many separate lanes converging on the same highway.

Throughout history we have put great importance in those we feel “get it”, from prophets, to scientists, to explorers, to artists. Everyone “gets it” to varying degrees, many even “get it” more than they know.  In fact, as an individual progresses in their understanding of “how it is all connected” – all subject matters begin to converge.  I could go on another huge tangent here, but I’ll save it for another post.

Remember, however, using those types of ‘aware’ individuals throughout time as an example – it seems none of them could convey their comprehension of the answer in such a way that EVERYONE grasps.  Those spiritual, scientific, and creative leaders all expressed the answer the best they could – and it’s ALWAYS a balance of “breadth and depth”.   For example, most religions are founded based on TIMELESS messages which a broad audience could grasp.  Jesus often used parables/metaphor/etc. — having cast a very wide net, breadth; while tailoring his message to his apostles (and thus, “speaking their language”), depth… In the end – the best we can do is accrue information that speaks to our soul throughout our journey, to understand how it is WE learn.   Remember that understanding takes two things, the voice AND the ear. We are diverging from our quest for the answer if we focus too much on “looking for the voice” versus “understanding our ears”.  Once you, timeless truth, “Know Thyself”, you are in a better position to learn about how “Thyself” fits into the greater whole.

The ONLY way I can fathom to help an individual understand the answer to this question is by suggesting the process to learning what you need to learn to understand.

There is a very high probability that by the time “seekers” out there grasp the answer, they will simply no longer care!  Conceptualize, as always, “a world without time” – think about how you would understand this concept in a world without time — and REVISIT this question as you learn other truths about yourself as a microcosm and the greater whole as a macrocosm. At some juncture, the best way to obtain the answer to this question is by being aware of it BUT being at peace with it.  Allow all knowledge, experience, faith, etc. to culminate, build, change and grow together — ask yourself the question with a smile, and in the interim, do not chase down answers, quiet your mind and absorb them.

I’ll summarize my interpretation of the best means to find the answer with the last line in a song I wrote about a year ago:

“So quit asking questions; you’ll find the answers listening;

and be content with being stumped, kind of like the ‘Giving Tree'”

~Loopholes on Life

The Giving Tree was content with being stumped, are you?