Purpose of Life (part one)

Everyone has a single purpose in life- excuse me when i dip into my Buddhist side of me- and that purpose is quite simple: be happy!!

Well, that isn't exactly simple when taken into deeper context. One has to question what is true sustaining happiness and how to obtain it. I have no general answer for that and I'm glad I don't. Gosh life would be boring if there was an answer. It would be like having a how-to-do manual for art.

What I can say is I found a loose guide lines for myself. I found epiphanies about life's meaning in the most unusual places. One place is a laundry program for the homeless I volunteered for in high school and the other is a crisis hotline that I'm volunteering for currently. The common thread between the two is that I was helping others. The meaning of life for me is to live for others.

Now the goal isn't to try to obtain altruism. Altruism doesn't lead to meaning in life, becuase it is nonexistent. Like I said, the purpose for anyone is to be happy and living for others is a means of acheiving deeper happiness. Donate till your poor and you become richer in your soul. Techniquely this statment indicated that giving is a selfish impluse, because you are benefiting yourself the most.

I'm fine with that. It is ok to help others for the purpose to feel good and make your life richer. This natrual mechanism to feel good when making another feel good encourages behavior that helps the community and not the individual. So basically, being selfish is a must in life, but the more mature forms of being selfish lead to more meaningful lives.