This is a profound philosophical question that has been pondered throughout human history. There are many perspectives on why humans exist, depending on different philosophical, religious, scientific, and cultural viewpoints. From an evolutionary perspective, humans exist as a result of natural selection and biological processes that have unfolded over millions of years. We didn’t come into being for a purpose; rather, we emerged through evolutionary mechanisms. That is the definition of Darwinism and it exhibits the cold and calculating ways of nature. From a religious and spiritual perspective, many traditions hold that humans were created intentionally by a divine power for specific purposes – perhaps to love and serve God, to be stewards of creation, to achieve spiritual growth, or to realize our divine nature. That is the Creationist perspective.
The creationist perspective on human existence centers on the belief that humans were intentionally created by God or a divine intelligence, rather than emerging through natural evolutionary processes. Within creationism, there are several main viewpoints. “Young Earth Creationism” holds that God created humans and all life forms in essentially their current form relatively recently (typically around 6,000-10,000 years ago), as described in a literal interpretation of religious texts like Genesis in the Bible. Adherents believe the six-day creation account is historically accurate. “Old Earth Creationism” accepts that Earth is billions of years old (aligning with scientific dating methods) but still maintains that God specifically created humans and other life forms, possibly through progressive creation over long time periods. “Intelligent Design” is a third approach that proposes that certain features of living organisms and the universe are best explained by an intelligent cause rather than undirected processes like natural selection. While not always explicitly religious, it argues that complexity in nature points to deliberate design. From these creationist perspectives, humans exist because God purposefully created us – often with specific intentions (which seem largely self-serving) such as to have a relationship with the Creator, to be stewards or caretakers of Earth and other creatures, to fulfill divine purposes within a cosmic plan (Oooh! Whatever that means) or to reflect divine attributes (like being made “in God’s image”). All of these views emphasize human existence as meaningful and purposeful by design rather than accidental or arbitrary., which is always a nice thing to think about oneself.
But still, the existential philosophical perspectives vary widely. Existentialists like Sartre might say that existence precedes essence – we exist first, then create our own meaning (that somehow feels very purposeful and right to me). Some might argue that meaning comes from our connections with others and our impact on the world (that too, has good feel to it). Still others might suggest that seeking meaning itself gives purpose to human existence, but that starts to feel pretty damn circular and never-ending. What makes this question particularly fascinating is that unlike other species, we humans are uniquely capable of asking “why” about our own existence. This capacity for self-reflection and meaning-making might itself be part of what makes human existence distinctive. I’m pretty sure that Buddy does not spend much time questioning the reason for his existence. He never gets past the fact that he does exist and therefore deserves to exist. That means that he strives to make the most of every day without regard to how much time he has or whether there will be any reckoning of how he spent what time he had. In fact, I’m pretty sure that I spend more time wondering about why Buddy exists and whether he is making the most out of his life than he himself does.
Examining one’s life is a profound practice of self-reflection and evaluation. This strikes me as an important undertaking and while I am hardly the first to make this observation, I sense that everyone must come to it in his or her own time and manner. Regular reflection through practices like journaling (or, say, like writing blog stories, as I like to call it), meditation, or quiet contemplation (what I do when I sit on one of my many benches and stare out at my garden) can create space to consider your experiences, choices, and patterns. I try to set aside dedicated time to ask myself important questions about my values, actions, and direction and examine specific dimensions of my life. There are my values. What matters most to me? Am I living in alignment with these core principles? The hardest part of self-reflection is not letting the glare of ego interfere with what you see. Then there are my relationships. How do I show up for others? What patterns emerge in my connections? That’s easy when it comes to Kim and Buddy, takes a little bit of effort with my kids and siblings (I always need to check my judgements at the door), and is harder still with friends and acquaintances, where unconditional acceptance may be a goal, but it all requires steady work and monitoring. Then there is work and purpose. Does my work reflect my talents and values? What contribution am I making? I have trained in a field (finance) that can easily grate against my values, but I find it critical to stay connected to it (in my case this was through teaching and is now through expert witness work) in order to continue to validate what I spent my life’s work doing. I do believe there is a righteous path there, perhaps not one that leads directly to salvation, but at least one that steers clear of eternal damnation. And lastly, there is the issue of growth. How have I evolved? What lessons keep recurring? I’m not sure this should ever be finished as we cannot ever hope to reach perfection. In fact, the asking of these very questions and the pondering of these existential thoughts is what keeps us on the path at least heading towards enlightenment.
I have found that when examining my life, I try to approach things with compassion rather than harsh judgment, as difficult as that can be at times. Look for patterns and possibilities rather than cataloging failures. This is straight from the optimists guide to the universe. The goal isn’t perfection but greater awareness and intentionality, neither of which come easily and must be constantly reinforced.
Movies like City Slickers would have you believe that there is only one thing that matters in your life and that you can figure it out during a two week vacation. I wish that were so, but I am more inclined to believe that one of the main purposes of retirement, with all the excess time we retired folks have on our hands, is to leave ourselves time to contemplate these things and find ways to pass the message on to others who are still in the hunt. We risk being accused of being maudlin or soft in our dotage, but I prefer to think of it as a time of great reflection and wisdom. There is nothing absolute or incontrovertible about it all, but I am certain that I am achieving my pure set and best thoughts at this stage of life, both because I have the time to ponder things and because I have a lifetime of experience on which to base these thoughts.
So why do I exist? It used to be to learn and be productive. Now it is to think and be enlightened. None of that is exclusive. We can think and be enlightened in our youth and we can certainly keep learning and be productive until the day we die. The best of all worlds is to be in a place where all four can co-exist and make our lives and the lives of those around us resplendent.