Hey there, Stone. Finally got our internet back up and running, so I am back on my computer now.

Again, I am glad you decided to start your own thread. As you have discovered, we have many good folks on here who are quite knowledgeable and experienced. And reading through their posts, I can tell they have already covered most all the bases so far. Therefore, looks like I will mainly be reinforcing what most have already said, but with a bit of my personal experiences thrown in for added flavor. *grin*

I have to agree with others in that the term "purpose" is rather loaded. It makes it seem like you have been assigned a mission, and that you are/will be a failure if you do not accomplish that mission. (Pretty sure somebody else already said that more or less, but it is worth repeating.) Fact is, it wasn't too long ago that I thought I had some type of "purpose" in life that was "planned out" for me by some type of higher being. Actually went through many years of my life believing that in some form or fashion. Why? Because, in my mind at the time, it always baffled me as to how I managed to survive so many crazy/dangerous/life-n-death encounters and come out of most of them with barely a few scratches. To me, it was almost as if I were intentionally being "protected" and spared for some reason, because there were so many other friends and people I knew getting severely injured or killed doing basically the same things I was doing. Unfortunately, it eventually got to the point where I would intentionally seek out dangerous activities and/or recklessly put myself in hazardous situations almost as if to DARE something to happen to me. No, I was not suicidal. Not in the least little bit. I truly enjoyed life and all the fun I was having. I guess I was just testing the limits of my "protection" in some ways. Plus, I had always been something of an "adrenaline junkie". To a certain extent, in my mind I thought I was "invincible". Remember, though, I thought I was being protected for some higher "purpose."

And therein lies the problem. For the absolute life of me, I could NEVER figure out what the "purpose" might possibly be. I would sometimes get home after some particularly severe "close call" in which I narrowly escaped being killed, and I would sit around wondering, "How the hell did I survive that?.... Better yet, WHY the hell did I survive that?" Then I would sometimes look up as if to heaven and think in a sincere and earnest manner, "Why are you protecting me? What is it you want me to do?" Obviously, I never got any answers to that. But those two questions haunted me for years. The worst part, however, is that I would sometimes get mildly down and depressed because I worried that I might be failing in whatever unknown "purpose" I may have been assigned. And that was a big deal for me, because I am a very task-oriented and mission-driven individual.

So I have just fried your brain with that whole lengthy and babbling story to simply say this: When I finally made the conscious decision to break away from religion and actually made the definitive statement to myself I no longer believed in the bible fairytales, that nagging sense of "purpose" suddenly vanished almost overnight. And I have not been bothered by it since. That oppressing feeling of guilt and potential failure is gone. Now I have goals I set for MYSELF. I am free of the burden of believing I owe some sort of "debt" or obligation to some make-believe entity. My priorities are 1. Take care of my wife and treat her like the treasure she is to me 2. Take care of our house and property 3. Enjoy every moment she and I have together as much as possible, because I know we only have one chance to do things right 4. Be happy and try not to take for granted all the good things I have in my life 5. Help others when I can.

Bottom line is, YOU control who you are and what you want to do/be. It is now up to YOU to decide how happy or sad you want your life to be. Yes, it can be a little scary (and maybe even a little overwhelming) having that much power (and responsibility) in your hands. But make no mistake, YOU ARE the one responsible for your life now. Once you get that idea in your head and get use to it, though, it is the most empowering and the most liberating feeling you can have. You are on the right track by being here on this site. Keep going and hang in there. You will find your course soon enough.

I initially answered:

arakish

Again I skip to give my answer.

What gives your life purpose?

Life itself.

rmfr

P.S. - Now to go back read others answers

And you asked:

Stone Jade

While this answers the question of what gives life meaning, I'm curious what it is that has life matter to you at all. I'm assuming avoiding death is not your only purpose/aim in life?

Well, let me see if I can qualify my rather simple answer above.

Avoiding Death? No. Not really. Ever since the death of my wife and twin daughters, I could care less whether I go on living or not. I do not particularly enjoy being in this shit-hole without them. Now this does NOT mean I am suicidal. It just means I don't give a fuck about dying. It also means I don't give a damn about living either. However, since I am still in this shit-hole, I make of it what I can. Since I am still living, I just live.

As I said, the only true purpose of life is life itself. What you make of it is what you make of it.

And since I am still in this shit-hole, I also try my best to live by my philosophy of life:

MY PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE
For me, the ONE and ONLY True Truth

This is something my father taught me when I was having such a terrible struggle with church.

• Live and Let Live.
• Leave me alone, I shall leave you alone.
• Mess with me and mine… Just don't… The results won't be pretty.
• Want to be friendly? We can be friends.
• Want to be belligerent? We'll probably be enemies.
• Respect the Right of ALL persons to have whatever beliefs they wish to have, even if contradictory to your beliefs.
• Wish to discuss beliefs? We can discuss them.
• Do not force your beliefs onto others.
• Force your beliefs onto me, we are enemies.
• Mind your own business and affairs.
• Allow others tend to theirs.
• Live and Let Live.

He with long nose, tends to get it chopped off.
-RF Runyan (my father)

My Ten Commandments

These I derived from My Philosophy above as I lived with my wife and twin daughters:

1. Question everything, trust nothing; for it is more important how to think than to be told what to think.
2. You shall mind your own business and responsibilities, and allow others to tend to theirs.
3. You shall render aid to others when needed, disregarding #2, as you shall want others to do for you. If your aid is refused, then do not force it.
4. You shall respect the right of ALL persons to believe whatsoever they wish to believe; even if contradictory to your beliefs. You may discuss beliefs; however, forcing your beliefs onto others is condemnable.
5. You shall live your own life always seeking to cause no harm.
6. You shall test everything; but you shall check your own ideas against the facts and evidence, and you shall always be ready to discard even a cherished belief if it does not conform to the facts and evidence.
7. You shall never overlook evil or shrink from administering justice; but you shall always be ready to forgive minor wrongdoing freely admitted and honestly regretted.
8. You shall treat ALL living things with love, honesty, respect, fidelity, and trust.
9. You shall never indoctrinate anyone, especially children, regardless of their situation; rather, teach them how to think, how to evaluate evidence, and how to disagree with you without disrespect and dishonor.
10. You shall value the future on a timescale longer than your own life span.

In other words, I just want to live my life as I wish. I don't care about dying, I don't care about living. But since I am still alive, I just make the best of it as I can.

Also understand this. If my wife and twin daughters had not been murdered, my life and viewpoint would be so drastically different…

rmfr

Then you are already one step ahead of the masses. Good for you! Responsible people are always more fun to be around.

What gives my life purpose, is the thought that I will do something useful for someone, or to simply help when I can.