I recently heard the song titled "this is your life" by Switchfoot. The song really made me think about what it is people want to become. Ask anyone what they want to be, and they almost always answer by saying what career they want. Is that really what you want to be? A doctor? An engineer? An accountant? Why do we want to become these things? I think that I want to be something greater than just a man with a job. This ties back to purpose (which I know I always talk about). How will a job help you achieve your purpose? If it does, great. But I don't want that to be my end goal. I want to become something greater than that. I'm sure most of us do as well. People always want to be someone great, which is why great people inspire people. If you want to become something other than you are, why are you not changing your life? Nothing can stop you from becoming what you want, except yourself. Others cannot stop you. They distract you, but it is only you who stops yourself from becoming something new. Try new things. Explore. Dare to believe. All these cliches are important to becoming someone great. You cannot change without changing your thinking and your actions. We are supposed to be more than just people that make money, eat and die. Become something more. Don't settle for less than you can be.
-Smart
Is Everything Meaningless?
"'Meaningless! Meaningless!' Says the teacher. 'Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.'"
-Ecclesiastes 1:2
I was thinking about my last post about desire and purpose. I then wondered why we attach ourselves to things that don't really matter. We try to get as much as we can, but in the end they won't help us in any way. We follow this formula that everyone thinks is the key to success; study hard, go to college, get a job, get money and be happy. I realized that we don't really need money to be happy. Money will not last after we die, so there is no reason to get as much as we can. We don't need to buy a bunch of stuff that we don't need, because it won't last. When we die, nothing we save up in life will matter to us anymore. Why do we think we need things that don't last? We think these things bring us fulfillment. We think rich people are happier in life than poor people are. When I think about it, whether we are rich or poor, all will die. Whether you make 20 dollars or 20 million, when you die, it's all meaningless. What does a rich man have over a poor man? What does a wise man have over an unwise man? Nothing. It's all meaningless. Even worse is the man who has no one close to him. A man with no friends lives a truly meaningless life. He tries to get stuff, like the rest of us, but it is only for himself. How fruitless is that? A man who only works for himself really is living a crappy life. He dies, and nothing he does matters. No one cares about him, because he had no one close to him. So of course the question remains; what does matter in life? Does anything matter? I think so. For anything to have meaning, there has to be purpose. You have to look forward to something, have somewhere you want to go in life. Colossians 3:2 reads: "Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things." In other words, don't focus on things that you can have on earth, but on something else. If you're Christian, focus on heavenly things. Set your mind on things of God, not on things of man. If you're not Christian, don't focus on getting material things, focus on getting more lasting things; relationships, friends, something. Don't constantly think about material things, but what you want to do with your life. A life focused on material things and focused on yourself is truly meaningless. I still do not fully know what is meaningful in life, but I know it is not about getting material things. Stop chasing after these things. They don't matter. It's meaningless.
-Smart
-Ecclesiastes 1:2
I was thinking about my last post about desire and purpose. I then wondered why we attach ourselves to things that don't really matter. We try to get as much as we can, but in the end they won't help us in any way. We follow this formula that everyone thinks is the key to success; study hard, go to college, get a job, get money and be happy. I realized that we don't really need money to be happy. Money will not last after we die, so there is no reason to get as much as we can. We don't need to buy a bunch of stuff that we don't need, because it won't last. When we die, nothing we save up in life will matter to us anymore. Why do we think we need things that don't last? We think these things bring us fulfillment. We think rich people are happier in life than poor people are. When I think about it, whether we are rich or poor, all will die. Whether you make 20 dollars or 20 million, when you die, it's all meaningless. What does a rich man have over a poor man? What does a wise man have over an unwise man? Nothing. It's all meaningless. Even worse is the man who has no one close to him. A man with no friends lives a truly meaningless life. He tries to get stuff, like the rest of us, but it is only for himself. How fruitless is that? A man who only works for himself really is living a crappy life. He dies, and nothing he does matters. No one cares about him, because he had no one close to him. So of course the question remains; what does matter in life? Does anything matter? I think so. For anything to have meaning, there has to be purpose. You have to look forward to something, have somewhere you want to go in life. Colossians 3:2 reads: "Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things." In other words, don't focus on things that you can have on earth, but on something else. If you're Christian, focus on heavenly things. Set your mind on things of God, not on things of man. If you're not Christian, don't focus on getting material things, focus on getting more lasting things; relationships, friends, something. Don't constantly think about material things, but what you want to do with your life. A life focused on material things and focused on yourself is truly meaningless. I still do not fully know what is meaningful in life, but I know it is not about getting material things. Stop chasing after these things. They don't matter. It's meaningless.
-Smart
Desire and Purpose
"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead."
-Philippians 3:10-11
I started to think a lot about people's desires and wants. People all want different things, whether it be a car or money or an Ipad. Why do people want these things? They have different reasons for wanting certain things, such as to achieve some sort of happiness or to gain satisfaction. This is what purpose is. Purpose is the driving force in your life. Purpose is a direction, not a goal. It is not meant to be attained, but to be worked for. You can head east, but you can never reach east. But the more east you go, the further you will have gone to reaching your destination. Goals are landmarks that you use to head east, but they are not your destination. If you look at what you want, you may see that you have a reason for wanting these things. Maybe you want to have fun, or have satisfaction. That's a purpose that you have. The things you want are just ways that you try to achieve your purpose. I realize that no matter how much stuff we have, we never seem to have enough. That's because material things are not our purpose. Actually, a purpose is not attainable. If it was, it would not be too useful. Purpose gives you a reason to live, something to look forward to. My favorite quote is "he who has a 'why' to live can bear with almost any 'how'." This quote says that having purpose makes everything more meaningful. If achieving happiness is your purpose, things you do are to make you happier. Everything has a new meaning. You cannot reach happiness, but you can strive toward it. The more unobtainable your desires are, the more you have to sacrifice to achieve them. The bigger your purpose, the more you have to work on it. What's your purpose? Happiness? Satisfaction? To become a better person? To change the world? Figure it out, and work for it. Realize that you cannot achieve it, but you know that it is there for your good.
-Smart
-Philippians 3:10-11
I started to think a lot about people's desires and wants. People all want different things, whether it be a car or money or an Ipad. Why do people want these things? They have different reasons for wanting certain things, such as to achieve some sort of happiness or to gain satisfaction. This is what purpose is. Purpose is the driving force in your life. Purpose is a direction, not a goal. It is not meant to be attained, but to be worked for. You can head east, but you can never reach east. But the more east you go, the further you will have gone to reaching your destination. Goals are landmarks that you use to head east, but they are not your destination. If you look at what you want, you may see that you have a reason for wanting these things. Maybe you want to have fun, or have satisfaction. That's a purpose that you have. The things you want are just ways that you try to achieve your purpose. I realize that no matter how much stuff we have, we never seem to have enough. That's because material things are not our purpose. Actually, a purpose is not attainable. If it was, it would not be too useful. Purpose gives you a reason to live, something to look forward to. My favorite quote is "he who has a 'why' to live can bear with almost any 'how'." This quote says that having purpose makes everything more meaningful. If achieving happiness is your purpose, things you do are to make you happier. Everything has a new meaning. You cannot reach happiness, but you can strive toward it. The more unobtainable your desires are, the more you have to sacrifice to achieve them. The bigger your purpose, the more you have to work on it. What's your purpose? Happiness? Satisfaction? To become a better person? To change the world? Figure it out, and work for it. Realize that you cannot achieve it, but you know that it is there for your good.
-Smart
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