Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Living on Purpose

When I was in high school I dated a girl that was a couple of years older than me. This was not an issue until election time rolled around. She was over 18 and was planning to vote. I, on the other hand, wanted to vote in the worst way, but was too young. This was extremely frustrating to me because I was politically aware and engaged, and she was not. A further complication was that she was planning to vote for candidates that I did not support. Finally, I could take it no more. I asked her why she was supporting all the wrong candidates. She told me in no uncertain terms that she was voting that way because that is what her dad told her to do.

Many of us live our entire lives that way. We drift from one event to another, one day to the next. We never know what we are doing, or why we are doing. Since we have to vote, we might as well vote for someone else's preference. Too many people have bought into the philosophy that life happens. So what?

In one way, everything is so much simpler if we take life as it comes. If we don't consider the implications of our words, or the consequences of our actions we do not have to feel bad about what we have done or caused. Some individuals have never considered the possibility that there might be a reason to do a particular thing (or not to do it).

It was Socrates that said, "The unexamined life is not worth living." I have to agree with that, and all it's implications. I am committed to knowing all I can about my life and the world I live in. This means that I must not only make good choices, but I need to know why those choices are good. I need to know what I am doing, why I am doing it and what will happen because of it.

I must live my life on purpose. I will make plans and set goals. I will think about what comes next, and after that and after that. I will consider the motivations for my actions. I will quit living by chance. No more life by happenstance and coincidence. I am in charge of my own life and my own decisions. How about you?

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