#69 - Resilience and Purpose

By SG

42 is the ironic meaning of life provided by Deep Thought in Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The issue within that book becomes what is the question that number answers. The philosophy of microvoices has a similar philosophy to Buddhism, loving every moment and freeing from attachment to the pleasure or pain of the moment. There are a variety of other attempts to provide a target for the action of life, whether it is based in a religious structure of following in Christ’s example, uniting the shards of souls in tikkun olam, or from a more liberal philosophy of hedonism or experiencing as much of life as possible.

Having a target of some variety provides a path for progress. How can you hit something if you are not aiming for it? At the same time, I have found benefit from exploring many inner voices and finding the connections between them and which ones provide the greatest meaning and benefit for the community in my life. This way I can discover where I best fit in in terms of ichigai – that is to say where I have a role in life that I am good at, serves the community, feeds my soul, and ensures that I have enough to survive.

Because the only perception we can be intimately aware of through our five senses is our own, and all others are only heard of second hand at best, that increasing pleasure for oneself is more important than improving the community. I disagree because our matter is neither created nor destroyed, only converted, which appears to be some form of atomical reincarnation. Further, if you have children or your siblings have children, there is a chance for recycling genetic information approximating you into the future. This selfish mindset doesn’t even consider the empathy involved when considering other sentient beings with life, loves, and dreams.

If we consider Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, there is a priority for all organisms before being able to pursue higher needs like art, morality, or respect and belonging in a community. If one cannot eat or have shelter, there is difficulty rising to the best of one’s ability. In that manner if the community is supported with those most fundamental needs, then others can support the community with their skills more effectively. I have experienced situations where life doesn’t work out in the timeline expected, and as a result my focus had to shift to more basic human needs. If cared for and supported, then broken shards of humanity can come together to make a more useful and concrete vessel for the grace of pure self-actualization to shine though.

There have been times in my life where I thought that I had fallen into a pit from which there was no returning. This emotional distress was deepened by that which I lost when I fell. Twice I considered that there was more pain than potential joy in life and it wasn’t worth continuing. These moments both came about when I lost a career that fulfilled ichigai, a community, and someone close in my heart. Family was a large part of how I was able to withstand these moments – and as a sibling has told me the most important family are those you chose, not just blood. Another piece of resilience came from redirection to a different purpose into the future, and one that was still focused on service and skills I had.

It is easy to see the inevitable “heartache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to” and rail against the hardships of the world. Does this improve the current situation though, or help with resilience for the future? This is why the dispassionate view of seeking the lesson for individual growth or the potential benefit from the situation is encouraged in some philosophies. Obviously, this is easier said than done. But in so doing, more can be done to build up the community, the self, and to potentially prevent another occurrence in the future.

No one can change the world or what has occurred in the past. It is only by action in the present that the future outcomes can be affected. As such, discovering our own unique gifts and using them to the best of our ability can provide the best opportunity to guide the world to grow into one that would allow for better opportunities for ourselves, our loved ones, and others who are in situations we could have fallen into if circumstances worked out differently.

• SG