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