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Key points
- There are many components of a good life; a good life can't be reduced to a single motivation or target.
- Purpose on a daily basis is informed by an overarching set of values and ambitions.
- Daily purpose is a combination of seemingly mundane routines that have value in themselves.
I have just returned from a holiday in Mallorca, in the Spanish Mediterranean. There is a pretty little town on the island, in which an old wooden tram crosses the picturesque central square.
I noticed that the tourists in the tram were busy taking photos of the many tourists in the square, while the tourists sitting at the square's coffee shops took photos of the many tourists in the tram. I then realized that people in this plaza had gotten onto a plane and traveled far away, only to end up taking photos of each other.
Tourists appear to behave in seemingly odd ways because, away from their daily endeavors, they can be idle and aimless. Some are simply enjoying the sites, while others may have a lot of hours to fill in the day and struggle to spend the time in a meaningful way. They may lack purpose.
Purpose and Meaning
"Purpose" is often confused with "meaning" when it is applied to life. One is expected to be propelled by a sense of purpose to enjoy a meaningful life. It is a transcendental concept.
Viktor Frankl wrote about how one can find purpose and meaning in life, even amongst the horrors of a Nazi concentration camp. This is a complex topic, but whether life has "meaning" is a philosophical question beyond the scope of this post. In any case, a person's life never has one single purpose; it has many.
It is important to bear in mind that life isn't a movie in which we star, heading toward a hopefully successful conclusion. We don't have a specific mission in life that we need to accomplish. We should try to live a good life if we can, but the components of a good life are many and cannot be reduced to a single motivation, or a single target.
The Mundane and Transcendental
A good life needs to be lived in the reality of our day by day, not as an abstract or transcendental idea. It is the daily purpose that is important, even if this is informed by an overarching set of values and ambitions.
This daily purpose is a combination of apparently mundane routines that have value in themselves. Every day we want to work, provide, care, interact, learn, and enjoy. Every day we want to try to avoid suffering. All these things are good, both separately and in conjunction with each other. These motivations may be mundane, but they are what move us to get up every morning, rather than any ostensibly deeper sense of meaning, or a single purpose.
