Do We Have Purpose? (open discussion, all views welcome)

What is this all about? Why are we here? Are we just a useless spec of dust in the universe or is there something more? Do We Have Purpose?

We certainly live like we do, don’t we? We're born, we eat, sleep, go to school, get a job, maybe start a family, maybe pursue a career, and find fun things to do in our spare time. Most of us want to avoid war and live in peace. But someday, the sun will explode and all of this will be gone. Will our time still have mattered by then?

Do we invent our purpose or does it externally exist that we seek to discover? If it is invented, can anyone just make up anything and it is all equally subjective? Is the lifestyle of a Buddhist Monk equally valid to a Narcissist, or is one greater than the other?

My stance: Living life is like driving a car. What is the purpose of driving the car? Is it to make proper turn signals, drive the proper speed limit and just be an all around “good driver”? This does not make sense to me; if I do not believe in any destination then I see no point in driving. Likewise, it feels circular to say the purpose of life is to live a good life. I may not know what the destination is, or what purpose exists outside our lives, but it stands to reason that there must be something and not nothing.

What are your thoughts? Come join us for an existential meltdown. All views and opinions welcome.

Rule Of Etiquette: The goal is to have a productive free-flowing discussion, while also giving everyone a fair chance to participate accordingly. If you have any trouble getting a word in, please use the "Raise Hand" feature. We will have a loosely enforced 3 minute timer for each turn, and will allow 1-2 minutes for anyone to respond or weigh in between turns. Please be mindful of your time and the number of people waiting, and know that you can always put yourself back in the rotation for additional talking points. It is also encouraged to engage with others on your turn so that we can have more of a free-flowing dialog, rather than each of us just taking turns on our soap boxes.

Hope you can join us!