I Do Not Know What Anything Is For: Purpose is meaning. Today’s idea explains why nothing you see means anything. You do not know what it is for. Therefore, it is meaningless to you. Everything is for your own best interest. That is what it is for; that is its purpose; that is what it means. It is in recognizing this that your goals become unified. It is in recognizing this that what you see is given meaning.
ACIM Lesson25,1
Purpose gives meaning to things. Without purpose we do not really know what something means. It is the purpose we have for something that defines its meaning, and without a purpose it is meaningless to us. A chair, for example, is used for sitting; that is its use, but without a purpose for sitting, the use of the chair is rendered meaningless to us. To loose purpose therefore is to loose meaning. Our purpose is what gives to or removes meaning from all that is in our environment, and also for our very lives. Without purpose therefore, life itself becomes meaningless to us, and only when purpose is established, does life regain its meaning.
It is critical then that we understanding our purpose. Meaning is based on purpose, which in turn is based on self-identification, i.e. who I am or more importantly, who I think I am. If I identify my self as an ego, then that ego becomes the basis for understanding my purpose, which in turn gives meaning to my life and to all that is in the environment around me. Similarly, if I see myself as a holy child of God, created in the image and likeness of my Creator, blessed and perfect, then it is this identification that becomes the basis for understanding my purpose and the meaning of life for me.
As a holy child of God, ‘Everything is for your own best interest. That is what it is for; that is its purpose; that is what it means.’ This is how we give meaning to everything, and it is also why things have different meaning to different people. The meaning we assign to something speaks volumes about who we think we are. And the more meaning or importance we give to something, the more clearly it identifies us. Every choice and decision we make is a statement about who we think we are. Our self-identiy is so important to us that we go out of our way to announce it to everyone and everything around us, in subtle and not so subtle ways, from our style of dress, the car we choose to drive, the house and neighbourhood we live in the people and parties we associate with, the career we persue, etc.
The lesson here is that since our self identity is reflected in everything we think, say and do, it is worth some time and energy to identify more with who we really are, as opposed to who we think we are--our true divine Self, as opposed to our made-up ego self. We are Spirit, created in the image and likeness of our Creator, and our spirit-ness cannot ever be changed or diminished in any way, even while we are having this physical experience of being in bodies. So while we are here in bodies, it would be in our best interest to identify with our spirit-ness, for then we will be identifying with what is permanent, powerful, and perfect. Our divine identification shines the light of divine wisdom on our purpose, which in turn brightens the meaning of life for us.
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