“God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?”
Friedrich Nietzsche
Over time, humanity freed itself from the grip of religion, from the answers religion provided and in doing so, lost the divine purpose, provided by the deities. But did we become as gods? Gods in a sense of having control over our selves, our lives, creating things and taking responsibility for our actions?
Science and philosophy tried and are still trying to find answers for all the questions, many of whom had been answered by religion before. For many questions there is only one correct answer, but other question, have many answers. One of this questions, maybe one of the most important questions, is the question about the purpose of our lives, our existence as a individual and as a species. Nature provides us only with a single purpose, to procreate and die. But what can give a purpose, a feeling of fulfillment, happiness, of being whole and coming home?
I don’t think there is a single purpose. Purpose is a flower with many roots and submitted to change. We all try out new things and they often fail. What one person enjoys, might not be your cup of tea. Despite this we collect memories, we come to know, what we like and what we don’t enjoy. What suits us and what not. The foundation our society is build upon, is only made possible, because billions of souls tried something new and because billions of souls failed. We are all the same, just a single light of billions, we all try and fail. To make mistakes and fail, but also to learn from them and to move on, is what connects us as a species and a society. It is what defines us as humans.
But what are the things, that connect us? Things that we love and want to share? Things that we have a passion for? Dreams, thoughts and ideas? Things that enable us to come into contact and form a community? We need this contact, after all we are always in some kind of social group or loosely connected to others.
The first realization is, that our own purpose is connected to the social contact with others. I used to think, that your own purpose can only emerge from yourself, but this is not the complete truth. Purpose is always connected to others and not just to yourself. In some kind of way, purpose is dependent on others.
The second realization is, that everything is destined to end, to break, fail, crumble into dust and fade away at some point. But every end is also a new beginning. And the end of something is necessary so something new can emerge and grow. Every day opens now doors and offers new chances. You just have to see it and have the courage to follow new ways. Everything can birth a purpose, even the end of something. Every experience and every moment can offer meaning. Even if everything is destined to end and to fail at some point, memories still prevail. If everything is destined to end someday, what is so bad at failing then? Tomorrow will be a new dawn, a new beginning, a new chance to fail or to find something precious.
“Everything that lives is designed to end. We are perpetually trapped in a never-ending spiral of life and death. Is this a curse? Or some kind of punishment? I often think about the god who blessed us with this cryptic puzzle…and wonder if we’ll ever get the chance to kill him.”
Nier Automata
“Everything that lives is designed to end. They are perpetually trapped in a never-ending spiral of life and death. However, life is all about the struggle within this cycle. That is what ‘we’ believe.”
Nier Automata
Those quotes from a work of art stuck with me since I heard them for the first time. Its the beginning and the end, the alpha and omega. But I think I finally discovered there meaning for myself. Life means a new chance and death is the end of something, the destined fail. Only after a end, a new chance is born and the spiral continues. You can see it as a curse or some kind of punishment. I once saw it that way and clang to the past. But in doing so I missed many chances of the present. But it can also be a new chance to find happiness. The search for a purpose is a this never-ending cycle. Only ending with ones death. But is the death truly the end? The end of your personal journey, but someone else will go further, than we could and the cycle continues. The search for a purpose is in itself a purpose of its own. Life is all about the struggle within this cycle, to fail and to try out new things. To open new doors and to find new ways.
As humans wee need each other, we are dependent on each other. We love to share what we love, our thoughts, dreams and creations, to tell stories and to pass on our knowledge. I am just a light of billions and I have my own perspective on the world, as everyone has a personal perspective. And in this world or another world, everyone can find something, that gives him the courage to move on, to try out new things and to follow new ways. We are all the same, we fail more times than we can count in the cycle of life and in doing so this cycle gives our lives a meaning and a purpose.
The first step is to accept yourself as the person you are. To embrace yourself as a whole. When I think about myself I see a boy in the sun, smiling and thinking about the answers for all the questions in my mind. There are no boundaries for ones own imagination, that can express itself in art. Art is our gift of creation, our way to create a countless amounts of worlds and places. Worlds where you can find something precious or learn something new about yourself. Places that you dream of, places that comfort you and places you can visit when you close your eyes.
With art we can express our longings, hopes, wishes, dreams, thoughts and ideas.
With art we can face our fears and in the end overcome our chains.
With our expression in art we can become as gods, creating something with a meaning.
Life in itself is a flower and every new memory, experience and creation a new blossom.