The purpose of life from a scientific point of view is something that has eluded me since the beginning of my academic pursuits. “Why are we here?” is the question that I continually ask myself, especially when presented with a particularly difficult or demeaning situation. Are we here on this Earth for a purpose? Is there some higher being that is using this life as a testing ground for our eternal existence afterward? It always seems to farfetched to think about and often is beyond a point of reasonable expectance of a clear answer, but one thing in particular is something I believe very deeply in and that is happiness and feeling of fulfillment in your life as a top priority to which all other priorities take back seat to.
The real point to which I am trying to direct your attention to in particular is the whole concept of what you do with your life. Being in school I have seen many people from various walks of life, all trying to work to a means to an end; jobs. I feel that work should never feel like work in the sense that you would rather beat you own head against a desk than to type up another TPS report or something to the like. Much too often people become preoccupied with the acquisition of money and monetary means of fulfillment when they hate how they got there. Why do people subject themselves to situations and jobs that do not give them enjoyment and excitement while they work?
I have found that in our society one of the leading causes of self loathing is the desire and ultimate failure to become “rich.” American values have clouded our judgment with the belief that to be happy in life you need to make lots and lots of money, regardless of the people and things upon which you step to reach that goal. This could not be any further from the truth. If you actually speak with some of the richest men and women and ask them what makes them the happiest, I guarantee you that not a single one of them would refer to their job or occupation as being the thing that they enjoy most in life aside from its ability to produce the money and current standard of living by which they have grown accustomed to. My deepest regret is the knowledge that this principle applies to nearly every working man, woman and child in this country. Why shouldn’t we do things that we enjoy? If you are happiest outside working on your garden, than why shouldn’t you spend your time developing your landscaping skills and learning more about the things that you love? Why should you subject yourself to the rigorously boring “rat-race” job that you spend forty hours a week doing if it is not something you enjoy? These are values that have been lost through the need for money and our own low opinions of ourselves. Every person in this world should be able to do what they want to do; not what society tells them is acceptable or “cool” because at the end of the day, after all of the reports and meetings are finished, you are only accountable to yourself. This I believe.