###WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE?
[[Click here to start ...->start]]We start with a simple question.
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Do you always think for yourself?
[[Yes->q1yes]]
[[No->text1]]Thought you might say that.
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The truth is ... how many of us go through life totally unaffected by the ideas of others?
[[True. But what can we do about it? It's the way things are, isn't it?->text1]]
[[Well I do my best. I try to think before I act most times->text1]]
[[I disagree. We are all capable of thinking for ourselves. I am proud of my independence->text1]]
The fact is that we live in a world of many voices. We are all going to be influenced by something ...
Religion
Politics
Family
The media
Teachers
Scientists
TV
The web
Social media ...
After all, there's this new phenomenon of INFLUENCERS ... people who you follow on social media because you trust their expertise in certain areas
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[[CLICK HERE->most]] for the currently most popular influencers.
[[Move on ...->text2]]
1 Cristiano Ronaldo (Sports) has 517 million followers on instagram
2 Justin Bieber (Music) has 455 million followers on Instagram
3 Ariana Grande (Music) has 429 million followers on Instagram
4 Selena Gomez (Music) has 425 million followers on Instagram
5 Taylor Swift (Music) has 361 million followers on Instagram
6 Dwayne Johnson (Film & TV) has 342 million followers on Instagram
7 Katy Perry (Music) has 338 million followers on Instagram
8 Kylie Jenner (Other) has 333 million followers onInstagram
9 Rihanna (Musi)c has 332 million followers on Twitter
10 Kim Kardashian (Other) has 319 million followers on Instagram
[[Return ...->text1]]//No man (or woman) is an island ...
//
(John Donne - poet)
[[Move on ...->text3]]Do we think for ourselves?
Do we allow others to control us or are we free always to operate independently?
Are we secure in our identity or have we allowed others to herd us into artificial [[victim groups->victim]] to silence our individual voices?
[[It is time to consider our identity, in its most basic sense->identity]]//Victim groups// are, an ever-increasing collection of ‘causes’, starting from a very real concern or situation, borne out of prejudicial behaviour or perhaps a disaster (natural or otherwise), but then infiltrated by those with very different motives. In fact, our culture has been thoroughly infiltrated by those who wish to impose a totalitarian state without anyone noticing. They have chosen to use artificial ‘victim groups’ as their means of accomplishing this, to wrench society from traditional Judeo-Christian structures and redefine the way that society functions. What this actually means is that these ‘victims’ are just pawns in the process and are, in fact, victims of society, rather than victims protected by society.
[[Return ...->text3]]We all have one thing in common, we are all delivered into this world in a cascade of blood, sweat and tears. As the midwife wraps us in those blankets we have a clear ''identity'', as unique human beings, defined by inherited nature and about to be moulded by the environment that will surround us in our formative years.
We are all defined by something that is fixed – our nature – and something variable, the nurture we receive.
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[[Nature and nurture->nature]] are the twin drivers that bring us to where we are now.
[[Move on ...->text4]]It can be a bit of a lottery. Some of us are stuffed before we even get started, with negative inherited family traits, such as big ears or a terrible temper, or diseases, such as the haemophilia carried by Queen Victoria and passed on to her offspring. Others are born into negative environments, such as poverty, times of war and conflict, or an abusive family, all providing experiences that are likely to have a negative impact on us.
[[Return ...->identity]]
Yet, beneath all of these layers of influence, is a single entity, shivering in the spotlight.
It is you, the essence of you, the part of you that is undeniably … you.
This is you without the trimmings and the trappings, without the inherited creativity, temper, and propensity for over-eating, without the bad habits and attitudes you may have picked up through a dysfunctional childhood.
This is you, fully stripped down, peeling away the layers of nature and nurture.
This is vanilla-flavoured you.
This is the very essence of your identity, some would call it your soul.
It is how you entered the world before everything else kicked in and it will be how you leave this world.
You are you … and nobody and nothing can take that away from you.
[[Move on ...->text5]]So, in all honesty, it is not just nature and nurture that map out our destiny. Once we reach an age when we are starting to make decisions for ourselves, then this can also be a time when real troubles start ...
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Can we trust ourselves to make good decisions?
[[I think so->q5]]
[[Probably->q5]]
[[I doubt it->q5]]We live in a culture that is becoming increasingly toxic and, as such, we can make bad decisions. Sometimes these can have dire consequences, There is a recent story that is so sad, so poignant and a real warning of the dangers that can lurk within this artificial environment.
It is the case of ''Molly Russell'', the beautiful 14-year-old schoolgirl who took her own life in 2017, a victim of the poisonous environment of the social media platforms she interacted with. A normal girl from a loving family, it was noticed that, in the last 12 months of her life, she had become more withdrawn and isolated, spending time on social media sites, particularly Pinterest, which relentlessly sent her posts romanticising self-harm and suicide, according to its algorithm. In essence, it was judging what her interests were and feeding them, without any filter to determine if these interests were healthy. Instead, it fed her darker impulses and led to her suicide. (link: "MORE HERE") [(open-url: "https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-62981964")]
[[Move on ...->text6]]The digital world that we are increasingly sucked into stopped Molly (and no doubt countless others) from reaching her true potential and her purpose in life.
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Do you agree?
[[Yes->q6yes]]
[[No->q6no]]
[[Not sure->q6notsure]]
Yes, the digital universe of (anti-)social media and questionable websites can be animal traps for the unwary, pulling us into a malign world of trolls, scammers and the downright wicked!
It can be a destroyer of dreams and a thwarter of honest ambition, unless you are made of strong stuff and are willing to navigate through the murky waters. Those who tend to conquer this terrain usually do so at the expense of those who flounder. A metaphor for life, really!
[[Move on ...->text7]]You may disagree but surely you can see how the digital universe of (anti-)social media and questionable websites can be animal traps for the unwary, pulling us into a malign world of trolls, scammers and the downright wicked!
It can be a destroyer of dreams and a thwarter of honest ambition, unless you are made of strong stuff and are willing to navigate through the murky waters. Those who tend to conquer this terrain usually do so at the expense of those who flounder. A metaphor for life, really!
[[Move on ...->text7]]The fact is that the digital universe of (anti-)social media and questionable websites can be animal traps for the unwary, pulling us into a malign world of trolls, scammers and the downright wicked!
It can be a destroyer of dreams and a thwarter of honest ambition, unless you are made of strong stuff and are willing to navigate through the murky waters. Those who tend to conquer this terrain usually do so at the expense of those who flounder. A metaphor for life, really!
[[Move on ...->text7]]We live our lives in full view but, now the digital world has opened up for us, it only requires a smartphone and a WiFi connection to open up an alternate universe that will never be a healthy place for us if we allow it to dominate us.
I used to spend hours and hours locked away in my bedroom, just to avoid my parents. It’s a natural part of growing up. But what the digital universe has unleashed is a situation that generations before have sought to protect us against, through movie classifications and TV watersheds.
Thanks to the internet, anyone now has unfiltered access to the very worst that the human mind can conceive of, and a kid’s bedroom can be a portal into the very worst of our nightmares.
[[Move on ...->text8]]So, how do we cope with this situation? How do we cope also with all of the other forces in society pulling us this way or that way ... but rarely in a way where we feel that we have any control over our lives.?
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[[We have no choice but just to accept that we have no control and that we just do our best->q8text1]]
[[We owe it to ourselves to live our lives honourably despite all that surrounds us->q8texta]]
[[The best course of action is to adapt to the situation in order to survive, regardless of the cost->q8text3]]
[[I wish it wasn't like this and that there was something I can do about it->q8textb]]This could be seen as a tad defeatist.
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[[Are you content with this state of affairs and accept how it is?->q8texta]]
[[Is there a small part of you that wishes that things weren't like this and that there was something you can do to make things better?->q8textb]]
Click on one of the above.
What do you actually mean by this?
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[[Find a way to adapt so that you can personally benefit->q8selfish]]
[[Find a way to adapt so that you can be a better citizen->q8findway]]So you are happy to accept how things are and somehow find a way to live a good life.
This is very commendable. Let us explore further ...
[[Move on ...->q8findway]]So there's a part of you that wishes that things can be different.
The trouble is that, as individuals, we can't change how things are but ... we can find a way to live a good life regardless.
[[Move on ...->q8findway]]
And at the heart of it all is our need to find a purpose in life.
And the first thing we need to realise is that our society would //rather// see you as a compliant citizen.
[[Move on ...->text9]]Of course there's nothing wrong to want to better oneself.
But do we do this at the expense of others ...
... or do we look for the common good?
This study is to presume the latter, that you are looking for a purpose that takes you
.. beyond the expectations of society
... away from the 'rat-race'
... away from selfish motives
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If you agree then [[MOVE ON->text9]], otherwise ... ''thanks for taking part :-)''If we want to find our true purpose in life, we must first be secure in who we are.
We must each find our own purpose and I suggest that this purpose must not be dictated to us by others - for their purposes.
Of course, many benign people in our society do love you and sincerely want to accept you and help you, just for who you are, not for what you may represent to them.
Yes, many of us have traditionally been victims of a less-enlightened society. Women, LGBT+ people, blacks, Jews and countless others have suffered from prejudice and worse in the past, but the past is another country, mostly we have moved on, or are in the process of moving on and despite the machinations of some, we are a much more open, considerate and accepting people than we once were.
What we don’t need are those who pretend to be more caring than the rest of us and castigate us for not caring enough, or not celebrating enough. They try to encourage our lawmakers to change the rules of civilized society, but their motives are driven more by disruption of society rather than genuine concern for the 'victims'. We need to wake up to this and see manipulation when it rears its ugly head.
[[CLICK HERE->text10]] if you agree and wish to move on.
[[CLICK HERE->woke]] if you're a bit confused and want me to express myself more clearly.I am now taking you somewhere else.
Please bear with me. It will make sense ... eventually.
It may seem irrelevant. It may seem sordid.
Because we are now going to talk about ... DEATH
[[Move on ...->text11]]
What we should guard against is when we freely give away our precious identities and start seeing ourselves as part of collectives, rather than individuals.
The rise of victim groups is, as we saw, a modern phenomenon, but it didn’t just come out of nowhere. Its sole aim is to screw us all up!
And has it succeeded? I would say ‘yes’. Here’s my thinking.
We all come in a variety of shapes and sizes, inclinations, varieties, and preferences, determined either by nature or nurture. The end product of this is how the world sees us but is not necessarily our identity.
We may have sexual preferences outside the norm, we may have been born into a family following a set of beliefs, we may have physical handicaps, and the list goes on.
What our culture wants to do is to filter you into groups that share these characteristics, so that they can speak up for you … and control you. It wants you to be defined by the group you have been placed into, it wants this to become your identity. It wants you to be a victim so that others can be blamed for your predicament (if you are a group traditionally marginalized or persecuted by society) or so that others can be castigated for not celebrating your new status.
I would suggest that this is artificial and smacks of manipulation for a very good reason.
It is up to you how you deal with your situation, not others who wish to use you to fuel their political motives.
You may be gay, but it doesn't mean you have to go to pro-gay rallies.
You may be black, but this doesn't mean you have to join Black Lives Matter or any other such groups.
Your identity must be defined by you and you alone. You may be black or gay or Jewish or a vegetarian, but you may wish to be known by the gifts and talents you have, or the profession you belong to.
You may wish to be known as a doctor who happens to be gay, rather than a gay doctor. Hopefully, you can see the distinction, but the choice must always be yours.
[[Move on ...->text10]]Now, there’s one thing that we’d rather not think about … death.
One thing that, mostly, we don't have any say in is the timing and manner of our death.
What a subject! Whether you believe that death is the doorkeeper for a better life afterwards, or just the ‘great spoiler’ before we return to the ground, it’s certainly relevant to all of us, even if we would rather not speak of it.
We don't like to think of it as a personal thing but it's probably the biggest draw in our entertainment world, probably more so than sex! Think of the most popular video games, movies, crime and horror fiction, newspaper stories, death metal music etc.
Death is good box-office; it always has been.
There must be a reason for this, surely? Do we deflect from our own demise by concentrating on all of the imaginative ways there are of dispatching others?
Horror films are getting more grisly, yet many of us can’t get enough of them.
We feel safe, I suppose, when it’s all about others, not ourselves. When I see a hero, say, in a hostage-saving scenario, blazing his way through scores of baddies without gaining a single scratch, every time he hits a target, I think … that's 20 or 30 years of nurture, love, ambition (albeit twisted) extinguished in a split-second.
Think of those poor young men at the Battle of the Somme in the First World War; over 19,000 lives were extinguished pointlessly in a moment.
''Why aren’t we more concerned? ''
Over 3 million kids die every year of starvation.
''Why aren’t we more concerned? ''
Three hundred babies die every day because of conflict.
''Why aren’t we more concerned? ''
One day we will all die.
''Why aren’t we more concerned?''
[[Move on ...->text12]]We all remember the Queen’s funeral, and how the media went into meltdown.
With fourteen-hour queues to visit the closed casket (were these people grieving or in fear of missing out?) and the blanket coverage in print and on screen, even the supermarkets over-stocked with flowers, supposedly to encourage more of us to take a pilgrimage to Westminster. This, of course, is not the fault of the Queen, who is probably looking down in horror at the extreme fuss made, and I must be excused for a touch of cynicism here because, in the time between the death and funeral, my own dear mum, the Queen of all she surveyed, has died and was buried, with considerably less fuss.
Here are my mum and the (ex-) Queen sitting together in heaven’s waiting room, waiting to be ‘let in’ to the greatest meeting of all. Hierarchies and tradition have been stripped away and both are equal in status. No curtsying here. Here’s how the conversation could have run:
Queen: //And what did you do in your life?//
Mum: //I was an artist and a dressmaker … and what about you? (Clearly no recognition here)//
Queen: //I was the … (pause) … a … mother and a grandmother … and a great-grandmother//
Mum: //Me too. It’s a wonderful achievement, isn’t it?//
Queen: //Yes, I do believe it is.//
Mum: //There’s nothing like looking back and seeing the love you have been a part of.//
Queen: //You are right. Nothing else is as important. We should be proud of ourselves.//
Mum: //Yes. A loving family, united in everything … I can rest in peace.//
Queen: (pensively) //Yes … I think … we can …//
[[Move on ...->text13]]
A day after the Queen’s funeral there was a quote. Who said the following, “//Our Queen is home. Today we said a final farewell to Her Majesty the Queen.//”
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[[Archbishop of Canterbury->q13]]
[[Cliff Richard->q13]]
[[David Beckham->q13]]In fact it was David Beckham, on his Instagram,
//“Our Queen is home. Today we said a final farewell to Her Majesty the Queen.” //
Home? What did he mean by ‘home’? Is this just emotional or sentimental language, or is there substance here?
The implication is that someone who has lived the fullest life for 96 years had not found their true home … until death.
Without labelling young David as the most profound thinker of his generation, rather than just someone who had a handy right foot, this begs us to consider the //great unthinkable//, death itself.
''Is it not the final chapter, but rather some sort of beginning, a true homecoming? ''
He wasn’t alone in his sentiments. According to the Daily Mail, //“in his funeral sermon, The Archbishop of Canterbury stated that the Queen’s strong faith meant that her famous assurance during the pandemic that ‘we will meet again’ would also come true in the afterlife.//”
Also, in a double-page picture spread it sported the headline ‘Together again in all eternity.’
[[Move on ...->text14]]
//The Archbishop of Canterbury stated that the Queen’s strong faith meant that her famous assurance during the pandemic that ‘we will meet again’ would also come true in the afterlife//
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What is your response to this?
[[Religious nonsense. There is no afterlife->q14a]]
[[He has every right to say this - this is his truth, though not mine->q14b]]
[[I agree. The Queen is now in heaven with God->q14c]](set: $faith to 1)
How many of us create a bucket list, of things that we wish to do before the grim reaper comes calling? We don't know the day or the time of our departure, so we intend to cram in as much as possible before it is too late! It smacks of desperation; wouldn’t it be more satisfactory to have the confidence to indulge in these activities without the spectre of death hanging over us?
Of course, sometimes we are not given a choice, but rather a doctor’s prognosis, though this isn't always as correct as the experts think. No one knows the hour or the day …
[[Move on ...->text15]](set: $faith to 2)
How many of us create a bucket list, of things that we wish to do before the grim reaper comes calling? We don't know the day or the time of our departure, so we intend to cram in as much as possible before it is too late! It smacks of desperation; wouldn’t it be more satisfactory to have the confidence to indulge in these activities without the spectre of death hanging over us?
Of course, sometimes we are not given a choice, but rather a doctor’s prognosis, though this isn't always as correct as the experts think. No one knows the hour or the day …
[[Move on ...->text15]](set: $faith to 3)
How many of us create a bucket list, of things that we wish to do before the grim reaper comes calling? We don't know the day or the time of our departure, so we intend to cram in as much as possible before it is too late! It smacks of desperation; wouldn’t it be more satisfactory to have the confidence to indulge in these activities without the spectre of death hanging over us?
Of course, sometimes we are not given a choice, but rather a doctor’s prognosis, though this isn't always as correct as the experts think. No one knows the hour or the day …
[[Move on ...->text15]]Perhaps we should think about whether there’s //any purpose for us to be alive in the first place.//
Is there a way for individuals to find fulfilment and purpose within our culture? Perhaps even to become better people.
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A starting point will be to examine ourselves first. What is our personal perspective.
{(if: $faith is 1)[[[MOVE ON->text16a]]]
(else-if: $faith is 2)[[[MOVE ON->text16b]]]
(else:)[[[MOVE ON->text16c]]]}
So, you don't believe in an after-life, particularly a //Christian// one.
We are all entitled to our opinions.
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The question is .... are you willing to see my point of view or not?
[[Yes->secondchance]]
[[No->leave]]I judge from your response that you acknowledge that the Queen was a Christian.
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But what about you? Are you a Christian yourself?
[[Yes->text17a]]
[[No->text16a]]
[[Not sure->text16b]]
Which of the following fits you best?
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[[I acknowlege that Christianity works for some, but not for me->text18a]]
[[I am sympathetic to the Christian worldview, but I find it a bit confusing->text18b]]As you are a believer all I need to do is to remind you of the following Scriptures to assure you that God has a purpose for you:
//For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.// (Jeremiah 29:11)
//For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.// (Ephesians 2:10)
//And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.// (Romans 8:28)
''Thanks for taking part :-)''
The predominant world view in our current culture goes by the name of //relativism// or //post-modernism//.
It basically states the following: ''There is no certainty or absolute truth. Everything is up for grabs. It answers the question, what is truth? with the answer … whatever you want it to be. ''
This state of mind has allowed for the rise of //fake news//, the idea being that, as no-one really cares what is true or false any more, then we can just make things up and allow people to decide what is true!
So, in this way of thinking, everyone can have their own truths! //What is true for you may not be true for me//.
We can allow this statement to consume itself by coming to the conclusion; if this is so then I don't have to believe the statement you have just made, which means that perhsps what is true for you //is true for me//!
This seems a touch of nonsense to me.
It is far easier to believe the truism that there can just be one truth in every situation. And - in our current culture - this is about as controversial as it gets!
[[MOVE ON->text19a]]This is a big subject and very hard to get to the heart of what is troubling you without providing you with more information and facts.
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Instead I ask you to email steve@saltshakers.com with your questions/worries and a free book will be sent to you - THE (OTHER) 'F' WORD - free of charge. Just give us your postal address.
We guarantee that this book will help you on your journey :-)
''Thanks for taking part :-)''Let's return to our musings regarding death.
I am now going to suggest that ... when contemplating this ... perhaps there is just one truth.
Either ...
Our death is blind chance ... either through an accident, or bad living, or bad luck
or
Our death is part of a grand plan.
Or it may be that you’ve never thought about it or prefer not to think of such things.
This is a situation when fake news has no sway, there will only be one truth, the same for all of us.
Either 'the day and the hour' comes through terminal biological malfunction or the whim of an intelligent being.
There is no arguing with the ‘Grim Reaper’ when he comes a-visiting!
[[MOVE ON->text20a]]
There’s an interesting conversation between two characters, a crew member and an alien, in an episode of the latest incarnation of ''Star Trek (Strange New Worlds).'' They were about to experience a life-threatening situation:
Alien: //Humans waste so much of their life worrying about death. Our people believe that the end only comes when we have fulfilled our purpose and supplied meaning.//
Crew Member: //So, what was your purpose?//
Alien: //To fix what is broken. And you? What do you feel is the purpose of your life’s path?//
Crew Member: //I really don’t know. Does this mean that I’m not going to die?//
Alien: //There’s only one way to find out.//
They both survived.
Perhaps the alien is right. If there is a purpose for you in this life it may be a good idea to try to find out exactly what it is.
[[MOVE ON->text21a]]
I just can’t believe that we are just a random bunch of chemicals; in my opinion, there's far too much even in the processes within a single cell to suggest that.
Of course, you may disagree and many do.
This is not a time for debate, there are other places where you can fight over such things.
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Which of the following best fits:
[[Do you insist on the randomness and pointlessness of it all because you wish to live your life as you see fit, with no consequences to your actions? ->text22a]]
[[In other words, do you deny the possibility of a judge because you would rather not be judged? ->text22a]]
[[Perhaps that's not even an issue for you, maybe it's just that your mindset doesn't allow you to see anything other than randomness and chance.->text22b]]
[[I'm fine with what you are saying and I disagree with the other three options. Let's move on.->text22c]]So, you are not exactly happy with the Christian position?
We are all entitled to our opinions.
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The question is .... are you willing to see my point of view or not?
[[Yes->secondchance]]
[[No->leave]]So, you believe that life is just randomness and chance?
We are all entitled to our opinions.
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The question is .... are you willing to see my point of view or not?
[[Yes->secondchance]]
[[No->leave]]Can there be some kind of plan for your life?
Of course, there can’t be a plan if there’s no planner, but you can still have purpose.
You can still live a purposeful life if you set your own goals and achieve them, and many live this way.
This view sees us all as individual lily pads in a great lake of humanity. The lily pads occasionally overlap and interact, not through a controlling power, just by the whims of the breeze or current. Any outcomes can be no more than either happy accidents or unhappy tragedies, unexplained by any great scheme of things.
[[MOVE ON->text23a]]
Perhaps you would be happy just living out the span allotted to you and filling it with whatever makes you fulfilled or contented,
or perhaps just struggling through with the hand that you’ve been dealt.
If your life, then, has been a particularly difficult one then it will be a case of just enduring it to the end and then … goodnight Vienna!
We see many living tragic lives, those born into extreme famine or war zones or during a deadly epidemic and, if life is random, is it just their bad luck to have such a hard time of it?
If life and death are such a lottery, these are all valid questions to ask.
[[MOVE ON->text24a]]If, on the other hand, there is purpose behind it all, however that may manifest, then perhaps there is a spark of hope for us all, particularly for those of us who seem to lack all of the advantages.
Is it so wrong to think in this way?
There is nothing to lose here, so perhaps you should think the unthinkable …
Let us now use our imaginations as I conjure up a scenario that you may or may not buy into, or perhaps are comfortable somewhere between the two.
Let’s imagine that all of us have a purpose in the great scheme of things.
That there’s some sort of order in the Universe.
Perhaps the turtle that bears the weight of the globe has stirred, or perhaps there’s a more traditional benign presence.
Maybe the natural world parallels our human world, where every action creates a reaction, and every form has a function.
In our human world, we manufacture and create stuff, from watches to quantum computers, from yo-yos to space stations. If any of these didn't function according to expectations then they are worthless.
Perhaps we can see ourselves in the same way, that we have somehow been created as functional beings, with purposes.
''If this is so, then it is worth us trying to find our true purpose. ''
[[MOVE ON->text25a]]
We can take this to the extreme when we look at the lives of some people and realise that their purpose in life … was to lose it.
Along with most of you, I have never been in a life-threatening situation, in terms of a conflict, whether a fight or a battle.
Think of those young British soldiers at the Somme in World War One, who left the relative safety of the trenches and gave away their lives so cheaply, to follow the instructions of the generals.
This is a common theme throughout history. Often the combatants had the insurance of a religious belief in the afterlife or perhaps had their senses dulled by drugs. In the Vietnam war, it was said that 51% of the armed forces were smoking marijuana, 31% were on psychedelic drugs such as LSD and 28% were on hard drugs, such as cocaine and heroin.
But some acted willingly with a clear mind, without any thought of consequences to themselves.
[[MOVE ON->text26a]]Even so, the idea of willingly going to a grisly death, or a lifetime of suffering with battle injuries, both physical and mental, is quite unthinkable to those of us cosseted individuals living in a relatively risk-free entitled culture.
To throw away everything life has given you at the point of a blade or the flight path of a bullet surely goes against the grain of the self-preservation that defines us as human beings.
Yes, you may be doing it to protect your family or your nation, but you won’t be around to see what benefit, if any, you may have achieved for them.
Why are some people so sacrificial?
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Here are three examples that you may want to explore:
[[The Chornobyl Three->text26b]]
[[Captain Oates->text26c]]
[[The Four Chaplains->text26d]]
Amazing stories and just three examples of thousands of similar feats of great self-sacrifice. How would we act in a similar situation? Impossible to know until you face death square in the face and decide whether to live or die.
[[MOVE ON->text27a]]
The Chornobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine in 1986 could have been far worse.
The fallout could have spread over half of Western Europe killing thousands and destroying land and crops.
The fact that it didn’t was due to the self-sacrifice of three men who have gone down in history as The Chornobyl Three.
Two technicians and a soldier volunteered to stop a molten flow of radioactive material from reaching an underground pool of water. By doing so they prevented a huge explosion that would have destroyed the whole area but, by doing so, they knew that they would die of the huge doses of radiation they would be exposed to.
They gave their lives for the common good.
[[RETURN->text26a]]Captain Lawrence Oates was part of Scott’s ill-fated expedition to the South Pole in 1911. He was part of the five-man crew for the final leg of the journey.
Although they made it to the Pole they were beaten to it by the Norwegians, led by Roald Amundsen. They were devastated and began the journey back.
After a few days Oates was struggling with frostbite and, because he felt he was slowing the others down, he left their tent and never came back.
He had given his life for the good of the expedition. His body was never found.
[[RETURN->text26a]]There was the story of The Four Chaplains – a rabbi, a priest, a minister and a reverend - in the Second World War.
In 1943 they were aboard the American troop transport ship, the Dorchester, in the Atlantic Ocean, travelling between Canada and Greenland.
A torpedo from a Nazi U-boat struck and the ship was doomed. Our chaplains gave up their life jackets and refused to abandon the ship. Instead, they tended to the wounded men and counselled them.
It was said that when the ship sunk the four men were linking arms and praying out loud. They could have saved themselves but didn't.
They gave their lives to tend to those who were doomed already.
[[RETURN->text26a]]The greatest acts of sacrifice must surely be when we give up our life so that others may live and when we discover perhaps that //the one true purpose of your life is to lose it. //
At some point, these people decided.
In some cases, as with the chaplains, they are buoyed up by the hope that their faith gives them that their ending is rather a beginning of something greater.
Others have no such hope and the bravery they show is unbelievable and impossible to imagine. Without a sure hope, they are willing to accept extinction, a blotting out of their existence, just so that others may continue to live.
We must respect this, but perhaps, in that moment of decision, there may be the //tiniest spark of hope// that, counter to everything they had believed in (or not believed in), there would be some sort of justice or reckoning or acknowledgement of this greatest sacrifice.
We have no way of knowing this, as none of them obviously have lived to tell the tale.
Wouldn’t this be a comforting thought, though? Or does your mindset baulk at the very idea of it?
[[MOVE ON->text28a]]As I just said, no one has come back to tell the tale.
Or have they?
Are there no records of someone who has made this ultimate sacrifice but has then returned to tell all?
I don't believe in ghosts or spirits of departed loved ones, but I do believe that //one man in history did come back. //
He was no ordinary man; if he had been then the consequences of his return would have been remarkable enough, though he would probably have been vilified as a fake or a deceiver.
Was he really dead in the first case? Isn’t this some sort of illusion or conjuring trick?
Our cynical minds would have swiftly disregarded his claims, because, in this age of digital technology and deep fakes – where we can create supposed digital copies of real people – nothing surprises us anymore!
[[MOVE ON->text29a]]But, if this man returned at a time when events couldn't be digitally manipulated, all that we have to counter his claims is the fog of history dividing us from this event.
And if this man was, let’s say, a little different, what would our response be then?
In an age where the Marvel and D.C. Universe grips us movie-goers and our imaginations are opened up to all sorts of possibilities, with gods and supermen living among us, perhaps his claims are not as unbelievable as we once thought.
Is it too much to believe that the one who created us, once lived among us and died because of us, showed us that his death was not the end?
He returned and, because of who he was, defeated the hold that death has over us and, by doing so, made a way where we can benefit too, even 2,000 years afterwards!
''I will leave this one hanging …''
[[MOVE ON->text30a]]But we have our lives to live.
We can choose to search for purpose, or we can just live each day as it comes (because tomorrow we shall die).
Life is so unpredictable.
Here is a list of some famous people whom all died in a single year, 2016: //Terry Wogan, Alan Rickman, David Bowie, Ronnie Corbett, Paul Daniels, George Martin, Prince, Victoria Wood, Carla Lane, Muhammad Ali, Caroline Aherne, Gene Wilder, Leonard Cohen, Andrew Sachs, Rick Parfitt, George Michael, Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds, Harper Lee, Nancy Reagan. Liz Smith, Peter Vaughan, Greg Lake. Jimmy Young, Arnold Palmer, Jean Alexander (Hilda Ogden), Johan Cruyff, Cliff Michelmore, Frank Finlay and Frank Kelly (Father Jack). //
It is rare enough to lose one ‘national treasure’ every year, taken before their time, but so many in that list in just one year!?
I’m sure that most of these people entered the year 2016 full of hopes and dreams.
Very few on this list would have had ‘died of old age’ on their death certificate (as did both the Queen and my mum, both living into their nineties).
They all achieved much, that’s why they are on this list, but to lose them all in one year just shows you how unpredictable our lives can seem.
[[MOVE ON->text31a]]
We may have whole industries dedicated to forestalling death, from private medicine to Big Pharma, to health food supplements, but the fact still is that, apart from those who choose suicide and euthanasia, we don't know the day or the time.
So, if there is a purpose for all individuals, then //now is the time perhaps to consider this if you haven’t done so already before it is too late.//
[[MOVE ON->text32a]]It’s very well drumming on about finding purpose, but how can we do this, is there a quick fix?
Well, the first clue is the fact we are all individuals, not members of groups, victim or otherwise, and so each of us will have an individual purpose in the great scheme of things.
You may still, of course, be convinced of the randomness of it all and I respect that.
But while you’re under my charge I feel duty-bound to say my piece and shut up.
Because, of course, if there's some sort of individual purpose for us all, then ''there must be a 'purposer''' (if there is such a word – if not I've just made it up, but I think you can see my meaning).
[[MOVE ON->text33a]]If there is indeed a purpose, then things may be easier than you think.
Of course, this may be a really big ask for you and contrary to everything you stand for and hold dear.
But here’s the thing, just acknowledging the possibility of such a ‘guiding force’ – whatever we call it - may be enough to set the wheels in motion.
Is this a leap too far? Because this may mean that all you have to do now is wait in anticipation, with an open expectant heart.
Of course, you may have already waited for most of your life, but maybe now there’s a context for your waiting, a coat hanger now hanging freely, waiting for a garment to make it complete?
There’s nothing to lose here, but surely plenty to gain.
Perhaps this is a step too far for you, too frightening to contemplate, an alien concept?
Perhaps you are content with your current belief system?
It could be that you have reached some sort of crossroads or at least a slight bend in the road.
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If so, I ask you to email steve@saltshakers.com with your questions/worries and a free book will be sent to you - THE (OTHER) 'F' WORD - free of charge. Just give us your postal address.
We guarantee that this book will help you on your journey :-)
''Thanks for taking part :-)''
I judge that this is about as far as you wish to go at this time.
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''Thanks for taking part :-)''Thank you for deciding to continue for now.
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Of course you can leave at any time.
[[MOVE ON->text22c]]
↶↷WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE?
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