What Are You Living For?

A simple question. Ever stop and think "Why exactly am I here? What is my purpose?" Of course, lots of people do that. There've been countless haiku, short stories, plays, films, books, letters to the editor, all on this exact same subject. So why's now any different?

It's not, really, but isn't it fun/scary to think that the world is undergoing some major shift in thinking? Have humans really evolved into something new species, perhaps Homo colossus, as suggested by William Catton in his seminal 1982 book "Overshoot." Has progress shocked us into drunken stupor, so much so that we have no idea what's going on at all? Writing in 1970, Alvin Toffler referred to it as "future shock."

In light of today's techno trends, and the constant realities exhibited on the nightly news...I'm fairly confident we're screwed. At least in the conventional sense that humanity as a whole is about to enter some new age. What that is, I have no idea. The fundamentalist Christians can hope to swept to Heaven in the rapture. The militiamen will hide out in Cold-War era missle silos, guns drawn, beef jerky sticks in hand as they await the Horsemen bearing turbans and communist armbands. Everyone else may just wander about aimlessly wondering what happened to their wonderful way of life. Or, if they were already screwed, there may be an air of happiness- "Finally, the rest of the world knows how it feels to live hand-to-mouth like me."

Then again, I could be all wrong, and everything's going to be a-okay for the rest of our days. Regardless, whenever the sun is shining and I can wake up to a fresh new day, one ripe with possibilities, I smile. The human experience is something I wouldn't trade for the world, except maybe to be a flying rainforest ant...because they're cool. To interact with people and experience the joys and pains of living are truly magnificent things. There's something inherently sexy about working together as a community toward a common end. Sappy I know, but think about that for a second. Whatever the future holds, there'll always be bumps and bruises. Relationships with other people - indeed with all living things - are crucial to our continued existence on this planet. Interacting with people will bind us closer together as we ride this spaceship along it's glorious path to...somewhere. Can't wait.