by Bridget Webber

Created on: April 06, 2009

On the one hand we live because we were born and living is what live people do. On the other hand we live for many other reasons other than merely to breath in and out until we die. Once we have a sense of self and begin questioning our life's purpose we begin to see many reasons for our existence, whether it be to learn and grow or to help our dependents to thrive also.

Different religions can give us their interpretation of exactly why we are alive. If our spirit moves us to believe them then we may adopt their philosophy and find meaning in their doctrines. If not we may discover our life's purpose based more on our experiences and desires.

We may watch our life's progress and come to the conclusion that we live in order to help others and bring about peace or prosperity in the world around us. Or we may prefer to simply be, and enjoy living in the moment, giving each second our full attention and making each present second count.

How we feel about why we live is a very personal matter. The reason that one person suspects that they exist may be very different to how another person feels about the relevance of their own reason for being. Despite this we may inadvertently decide that everyone should think like we do. If they don't, and follow another way of living than us, we may chastise them.

The way that we conduct our lives reflects why we believe that we live. A highly spiritual person who believes that they are here to spread calm and gentility may struggle to get others to adopt their point of view. Like-wise a person who believes that they are here to obtain money, rather than following a less materialistic quest, may label peace lovers as layabout hippies.

The truth is perhaps, that we all live in order to progress. As our individual lives develop the one thing that most of us will agree on is that we expect to become more knowledgeable, skillful and wise. For some of us the road to enlightenment and growth is rocky, providing even more fodder for gaining understanding and empathy. For others there may be periods of stagnation where one day runs into the next with no apparent reason for living showing itself.

Whichever route into learning that our lives take us we continually reach for something better than we have. This need to reach for the stars is a human quality that dwells deep in our hearts. It may manifest itself in many different ways, depending on our views, upbringing and beliefs.

The stars that some people reach for may be closer to home than others, and yet still provide an admirable aim. Whether we work hard to feed our children or invent new technology to advance human-kind, we are all united in that we live so that we may grow.

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