I think most people will agree that the purpose of life is to do the most good possible.
We want our legacy to be about how much good we left behind. How sad when a person
is eulogized for his business success, world travels, car collection, athletic prowess,
beautiful garden and off colore jokes.
Here’s the hard question we need to ask ourselves, “What’s primarily driving me?” I
think there are only two possibilities: We are driven either by a desire for comfort and
self-gratification or maximizing our potential for doing good. In our heart of hearts, we
are either about taking or giving. Many believe that we are a combination of both drives.
Although this may be true in a practical sense, there is ultimately one primary desire that
defines us. Can you look at yourself in the mirror and honestly say, “My greatest desire and life commitment is to do the greatest good possible? If you can, then you’re on your way to living a
glorious life of self-transcendence and enormous pleasure. What’s your truth?
Another hard question is, “What’s the greatest good a person can do?” –feed the poor,
serve G-d, love humanity, teach wisdom, build a family, promote world peace, eradicate
evil, save the environment? There are spiritual and non-spiritual approaches to
answering this question. Ultimately, each person needs to define for himself what the
greatest need is in the world today. Is there anything else more important to contemplate
and clarify?
Yet, one might argue, “but I need to think about my career, who to marry, where to raise
my family, who to vote for, etc. Of course, one needs to answer these practical questions,
but still the big question remains, “towards what end?” What’s ultimately driving me?