The Purpose Of Life

A long time ago in medieval times, a young man sought the company of an old sage to inquire from him the purpose of his life. The sage was widely renowned for his practical teaching, so the young man felt no surprise when he was directed by the sage to go sit by the riverbank and observe all that happens there for a month.

Seated by the rivers bank, the young man keenly observed and took note of every minute detail of happenings around him. The birds that flew pass in droves singing merrily as they passed, the fish that hopped out and back into the water, the fluctuation in tide, he even observed the motions of soldier ants processing from an anthill near his watch post.

A month passed and the young man returned to the sage enthusiastic to report his findings. After patiently listening to all his student had to say (which was quite a lot), the sage nodded his head to indicate he had heard, he then asked the young man to go back to the riverbank and spend another month this time observing all that was wrong about the happenings by the riverbank.

Weary but not discouraged, the young man set out once again to spend another dreary month by the riverbank. He came back a month later with multiple theories of dissent regarding how birds ate fish without replenishing their stock, how larger animals preyed smaller ones instead of protecting them, the unreliability of the rivers tide, he even complained about the aimless marching of the soldier ants.

Having patiently listened to his student once again, the old sage merely nodded his head awhile and then to the young mans dismay, sent him back to the riverbank to keep watch, this time for all that was right.

Appalled, the young man returned to his duty post and watched dispirited for yet another month. By the end of the third month, when he returned to the old sage, it was with his spirit broken and his mind in even greater confusion than ever before he met the sage. Not surprisingly too, he didnt in the course of the month past see much that was right in his observations of the riverbank.

After giving the sage his report, the young man watched in horror as the sage in that all too familiar manner once again nodded his head. Fearing the possibility of being sent to spend another dreadful month at the riverbank, the young man fell on his knees and cried: please master, open my eyes and make me see. For at the riverbank I see naught!

The sage looked into his students eyes and motioned him to stand up. He then took him by hand and led him to the backyard. Getting to the backyard he showed his young student a beanstalk. Turning to the young man the sage said:

I planted this bean stalk the first day you came here seeking for your lifes purpose. In the three months after that all you have done albeit according to my instructions, is to watch. You have keenly observed time fly by, becoming in the process none the wiser. However, within that same three month period, this been stalk has grown from a tiny been seed into a mature stalk, it has given forth its first fruit which need I say I enjoyed very much and it will continue to bear fruit until it dies.

You have spent three months as the dead, watching and contributing nothing to the world at large while this beanstalk has wasted no time seeking meaningless purpose but has gone ahead to contribute positively to its world.

The purpose of all life is meaningful living. If a life has no impact, exerts no influence and changes nothing about the world around it, then like yours has been the past three months, it is empty and meaningless.

That said, the old sage picked some beans and left his student to his thoughts.

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