What are we here for ?

I have often wondered what am I doing here. What is the purpose for me being here? Or is there a purpose at all?

There is very old saying in Chinese
Where the vision is one year, cultivate flowers.
Where the vision is ten years, cultivate trees.
Where the vision is eternity, cultivate people.

So you see, the ultimate vision or goal for each one of us, is to enable others to come up. Constructive Politics (sounds like a contradiction, right !), is the need of the hour. We are called not to give up on others but to give ourselves to bring others up. We are all called to stoop low to lift other up and if we are not going to do it, those people below, are going to raise high and pull us all down to their level.

Someone asked, if we are here to help others, then what exactly or the others here for? Good question, of course, the answer is that the others are also here to help the others. Zig ziglar, the great orator, often quotes, “If we help others enough, we will be helped enough”.

Do people look forward to you being around them? Are you missed by at least a few people at your place of work, if you don’t turn up? Or, is there a big sigh of relief when you call up and say you are not coming in today?

You might be wondering how this matters, we are here to work, we work and get paid and then we are gone in a couple of years, why all this talk about relationships. You see, the point is, it is not possible to be a great success, all alone!

Even though champions get the medals, they always realize that there are many people behind their success, without whom it would not have been possible. Their teachers, parents, coaches, fans, and mentors and many many more. One can never fully repay those who have helped winners. The only way to show a little gratitude is by helping those who are following.

Socrates taught Plato; Plato taught Aristotle; Aristotle taught Alexander the Great. Knowledge and Values, had they not been passed along, would have died. Our greatest responsibility is to pass on a legacy that the coming generations can be proud of.

There are many kinds of desire. Desire for success, desire to do one's duty even at the cost of pleasure. Desire for purpose. Something worth dying for which gives meaning to life. What good is it if you gain the whole world and lose your conscience?

A purposeless life is a living death. What is your purpose? Do you have one? Purpose brings passion. Find or create a purpose and then pursue it with passion and perseverance. Every day we need to ask ourselves the question: "Am I getting any closer to my purpose in life? Am I making this a better place to live and work?" If the answer is no, then I have just wasted a day of my life. Life will reward us in proportion to our contribution.

The earlier we find a purpose in life, the better it is. It appears that the greatest challenge comes in the unending search for the purpose of life. Not only as an individual but also for our families, organizations and our country. Once our purpose and values are clear, conflicts between self-interest and social obligations find a moral balance between themselves. We become aware of when to take a stand. That is the time we start making the right decisions for long-term gain rather than making the wrong decisions for short-term gain. Wisdom and maturity lead to greater understanding of major issues.

We cannot help ourselves without helping others.
We cannot enrich our lives without enriching others.
We cannot prosper without bringing prosperity to others.

All of us are put on this planet for a purpose. We are part of a big picture. But very few people discover their purpose in life. Most of us just exist and keep counting our days rather than making our days count.

Dr. Albert Einstein was once asked, "Why are we here?" He replied, "If the universe is an accident, we are accidents. But if there is meaning in the universe, there is meaning in us also." And he added, "The more I study physics, the more I am drawn towards metaphysics (The philosophical study of being and knowing)."

So each day, make sure you help others and leave home contented that someone found your presence in the office useful, if not, was it worth, coming to the office today?

I would rather fail in a cause that will ultimately succeed than succeed in a cause that would ultimately fail.