The Answer to Life's Toughest Question Is: You
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Its a rare occurrence for us to take a pause and try to make sense of things. We may ask ourselves
Why are things happening the way they are right now in the world?
Why are there so many conflicts brewing no matter where we turn?
Why must we work ourselves to the bone to be valued and appreciated, let alone "fairly compensated"?
Why must we conform to what society says is the "right" way to live- and yet it makes us squirm, toss, and turn with each passing breath we take?
There's a lot of things going on around us showing the dark, twisted, and hidden side of humanity.
Celebrities getting into scandals or dying in rapid succession.
Things lining up or happening in the cosmos and the stars.
And deep down we know we have all these questions with the 5Ws...the biggest of them all, is WHY.
The WHY always forces us to think.
It allows us to really dig deep into the roots and the heart of someone or something. The more we ask WHY, the deeper we get until we get the answer we seek...or we are at least satisfied with the answer we are left with.
Sometimes however, we are left with more questions, each eventually needing to be answered with another WHY.
One of the toughest questions many of us are asking ourselves is: Why Do I Exist?
To help think of an answer, lets take a step into the booth - er, warehouse with Deimos and Charlie, two friends raised on the same block many moons ago. Both experienced the good, the bad, and the ugly on the streets of New Rekks City and through their own respective life paths. Together they often have unfiltered conversations on topics such as that timeless human question -
So, Why Do I Exist?
"Yo bro, did you watch the clip I sent you?" Charlie said, taking a swig of his 'relaxer' drink. A light brown beverage with a fizz to mellow out even the most anxious.
For Charlie Fox, this was medicine beyond medicine - and much more affordable.
"Which one you talking about now? You send me all kinds of shit!" Deimos says, leaning back into the snot green couch, clashing not only with his white and dark blue outfit, but also the rest of the maintenance bay office they occupied to record their weekly yap-session entitled 'Moon on the Pavement.'
"The one wit the dude crashing out about life and shit. Dude that got fired from his job less than a month before he was supposed to get his pension. Wild shit."
Deimos sat up "Oh yeah I think I did see that one. Play it for me"
"Yeah, hold up lemme find that shit on my Holo...aight bet. Y'all in for some shit cuz, we gotta talk about this man. He raises some real deep wounds."
Charlie digs into the right cargo pocket of his oversized mechanized overalls for a few seconds before pulling out his device. He taps his near invisible screen a few times before an image of a black man, balding with a salt and pepper beard appeared in holographic form. His face lightly brushed with scars from what seemed like a life fulfilled with hard labor, but his demeanor hardly showed that excitement.
"Aight y'all here we go. Pay attention cause we bout to go in" Charlie shouted into the mic before pressing play; the device pressed against it to deliver clear audio.
The man known as 'rontime' broke the harsh news no one wanted to hear: Released due to budget cuts caused by a merger between sister companies managed by Fait INFINITUM just shy of his retirement after 32 years working in the factories. He went off on how a multi-billion dollar company didn't give a fuck about its people running and maintaining its machines. He bashed how all they care about is the numbers and THEN you'd get paid just under the minimum, so you can go out and hustle to work like a machine you couldn't afford to properly maintain.
"And its not just F.I. doing this shit man. It's happening all over. This shit is happening everywhere y'all. This false narrative of work and live the American dream is bullshit y'all. What are we doing? Is this what we exist for? To fucking work, get fired, get tired, get up and do it again anyway to earn motherfuckers money they won't even pay us? Why the fuck are we here y'all? Why the fuck are we doing this? Think about it. Someone tell me because the math ain't mathin!"
Deimos leaned back into the couch, a scowl in his face. A look Charlie knew all too well.
"Yeah! Yeahhhhhh!!! Look at this man face y'all! Y'all gotta see this man face!! Tell em how you really feel Word Wizard!"
Deimos sighed. "We bout to be here for hours because there's a lot to unpack on that."
"I told you bro! I told you! This shit don't make no sense. Homie was about to get paid for life and they cut him!"
"That's nothing new tho sadly. What he said tho about why we exist, that's a bar right there."
"Talk to em nice! Why's it a bar?" Charlie asked.
"Because man, that's the million dollar question right there. Why do we exist? We're taught from the early school days that we gotta perform and get accolades and shit like that to be seen, noticed and appreciated right? What's going on right now builds upon that foundation of indoctrination."
"Bro, you ain't never lie. The streets is talking just like homie on the clip man. Its like we don't even know what the fuck we doing in life. We just doing it. But real shit, what's the meaning of life to you since we talking about it? What's it mean to you?"
"From a general perspective, the meaning of life can come from many different faucets. Kinda like the branches and roots on trees man they can go in any direction."
Charlie 'ooooooh'd' almost falling out of his chair with a fist to his mouth "What you mean tho?"
"I mean - think about it, there's been lots of talk over this over the centuries right? You've got different philosophical takes on the meaning of life. Some overlap and some are drastically different. Hell even religion tries to get their spin on it saying live to be like God or some other deities and shit like that." Deimos said, leaning forward as Charlie nodded.
"So you pretty much saying there's no one set definition or reason why we live?"
"Yeah, and that speaks to our own individualism too. They always say no two people are alike, so in that case no one definition of Why we exist applies to everyone. Each of them is a vibe depending on the person and for some they connect with a few different types." Deimos added, taking a sip of a half full water bottle.
"Ah so there's different types for different peoples. But whats funny is the lot of us don't really give a fuck enough to ask ourselves that question. We just go with the flow of society, burn ourselves out for the hustle and approval of the masses and then we sob and shit like oh my gawd where did my life go." Charlie added. "So again my dude, Why do you exist? What philosophy or definition speaks to you as a person?"
"I'd say I jive with the Humanist and Existentialist houses of philosophy. We call the shots bro. We define what life means and is supposed to be. What we believe in...our values and actions, those pave the way towards why we exist. We also come with natural talents and abilities that change over time based on our experiences. We can choose whether to use those talents to better ourselves, to better others around us...or say fuck it and not give a damn."
"Damn, that makes sense. You know me, I'm all about science and the numbers so I say we evolve to get to this point and will continue to evolve til we can't no more. But you right too, we all got talents and shit that we use day to day and that helps with the why of life. It's ain't all bout getting the bag of corp-bonds and spending on the latest fad shit, its about how you can really get to know thy self and grow."
"Yo, get to know thy self man...can't stress that shit enough. Money and grind don't define you. That ain't all you are ladies and gents. Look around. Go see and study your environment. Explore outside of it." Deimos said, finishing his bottle in two fast gulps.
"Nagh bruh you crazy? You go out there you might not come back, dead ass!" Charlie wisecracked, causing them both to bust out laughing
So let me ask you Outcasts, which way is the right way?
Some of us follow religion, others follow gurus and influencers, but which message really resonates with you?
Which one do you feel holds the most truth?
This is something that conflicts are fueled by; relationships and bonds severed. We internalize the "facts" that resonate with us and are quick to point the finger at anyone else who says anything differently.
Yet, in-spite of this, we are here...right now in the present. We exist, by choice or not...and we must do what is right for our lives while time remains on the clock.
You Choose Your Why
Regardless of theory, we have the power to choose our WHY.
Key word...choose.
We all have a choice how we wish to live, and those choices often reflect our WHY.
Sometimes what we choose to do may harm or help ourselves and the people around us. We all know there are questionable practices that exist in society today. Such practices may trigger our moral compass. But their choice is based upon their reason WHY at the subconscious level.
Its not our job to point the finger and say your way is wrong because it's not what you believe. But we must understand that every person is, at a minimum, a human being that has talents, abilities, and choices to make. What we believe is right for ourselves at the individual level. It is not the ONLY way to live. What works for you may put someone else in a bind or not resonate with them.
Does it mean we purposely ignore what goes on in the world and turn a blind eye?
Nope.
Murder is still murder. Birth is still Birth. Love is still Love. Peace is still Peace.
If someone chooses to live at home with their parents, not work, and enjoy a peaceful care-free life?
Let them.
If someone wants to climb the corporate ladder because it motivates them to become a better version of themselves and be able to provide for their family?
Let them.
There may be things we disagree with outside of ourselves, but realize we cannot control the whole of existence with questions, chastisement, and finger pointing. We can only effect and control ourselves as individuals and set an example when and where it's needed.
Not everyone will understand or follow YOUR path, and you know what, that's okay.
What If You're Suffering or haven't Discovered Your Why?
There are many people right now going through their own individual or collective struggles, and I feel for you.
I too have gone through a lot of strive and still have my battles to face.
I've gone through my period of not knowing who I am or what my purpose is in life. Hell I am still learning to this day.
But I will tell you straight up, you are not here to LOSE!
You are not here to suffer!
You are not here to be ignored!
You are not here to suffer and be mistreated by others!
When we go through our trials, we can get trapped in the narrative that nothing works out for us, that we are bad people on the receiving end of Karma, or that we don't belong here because all we seem to do is hurt or get hurt.
I'm here to tell you that's bullshit and you know it.
You just haven't discovered your true why yet. You haven't discovered the light inside you yet, that each of us has no matter how small it may be.
I'm someone that has seen all kinds of shit. Homelessness, broken hearts, me breaking hearts, poverty, war, death (my experience and others) - and each one left me reeling because I felt like those experiences piled up on me, especially the ones involving a fallout from love. I used to feel like I was marked to fail at love. Like no one wanted to be with me - but I realized that from my experience, I wrote that narrative and my own thoughts and actions led to what happened.
I wasn't a victim in life, I was and still am a co-creator.
Being a co-creator is some powerful shit. Hell, look at it as you get to be he author of a book unlike no one else. You don't have to follow anyone else's rules to write the story of your experiences. You write it in the way that is true to you.
You pick the medium to write it - digital or with the pencil or pen.
You choose the style in which you write it - melancholy, satirical, like a comedy, like an epic or even a damn space opera.
The Past, Present and Future is forged all by how you write it.
So to those of you that feel you have no definition or purpose as to why you live, or feel like its to impress others or to ball so hard for the paper because that's what society says you must do - ask yourself:
Who is the Author to the story? Society or You?
The bumps in the road are all part of the plot. As you live it you write it. Take from it what you will but know that your life matters.
Don't like writing as a concept? Thats okay, direct your movie! Sing your Songs! Do what excites you!
Oh, and if you feel that you're just here living to die - you're actually not wrong. BUT you have a whole lot of presents to open up each day 😌.
Final Points on Existence
I'll leave you with a few bars to give you something to think about.
On Questioning the purpose of Existence: You're questioning existence and societal norms and yet you're not asking yourself why it matters so much to you in the first place. No one is going to answer those questions but YOU... For yourself. What makes you a bum if your opinion matters only? What makes you a show off if no one sees or hears your effort?
On societal expectations to perform and validation: If a tree crashes and falls how do you know if you weren't there? Did you hear the sound when it fell? Did you feel the distortion in the air? Point is... Until you are present with YOURSELF you will never know... And all the questioning in the world will keep you in the loop of no return.
On conforming to what is expected: There's no predictability in life... The same way there's no predictability in anything else. We may have patterns and yet there's always a chance of a different outcome. Nature shows us this if we're willing to sit still and really observe.
On Trial and Error: Trial and Error isn't bogus.That's based on perception. Trial and Error is how we grow. It's how we get familiar with our environment and ourselves.
The reason you Exist, the answer is in YOU. Find it, no matter how long it takes.
#CompassChecks #StillHere #UnseenUnderstandings #Existence #WhyDoIExist #KnowThySelf #IAmRonin #Outcasts
Notes from the field - Let's talk about it Outcasts. Why do you exist? What is your philosophy on life? Hit me up in the comments and lets trade points shall we? 😏
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