I've gone in a
circle of ideas, starting out with the pursuit of happiness and the quest for
enlightenment. Questioning if what comes natural is closer to the meaning of
life (the pursuit of happiness) or if it's closer to having to see past or through
everything (enlightenment). Then again, many people feel they need to have a
legacy in order to be fulfilled. If you were to mean something more than
everyone else, but everyone wants to be "somebody", then what more
would you be than an inspiration to the rest of us?
I think inspiration comes from a person leading by example in a particular field, with the wisdom to know what to do next, the skill to have the know-how, and the virtue to do it. The actions from that character can remind us that we all have it in us to get what we want out of life if we do the searching. Or maybe it is voiced to us by the person. In order for that person to be inspired to get what he or she wants and to inspire others to do so, they may need to pull their soul out of the layers of their experiences (usually in desperation) to discover the purpose of their walk of life.
Once they have that, they can be that inspiring character that I described if they remain strong enough to keep everything out of the way. Inspiration is important for us to grow, but some people don't have that in mind when they're out for fame and fortune. The people who see that as their main pursuit in life may be missing the point, but our chances depend on our time. With enough money, those people may have all the time in the world to become complete.
But it's obvious to me that what we live for is to experience the spiritual connection that makes us feel complete. There's just a few different paths we choose to make that happen. It's a mystery which one is "right", or if there even is one right way about it...
Katie Fox
The Philosophy Takeaway 'Open Topic' Issue 32
