Life

What is life? More specifically, what is the meaning of life? What is its purpose? Life is merely a particular form that consciousness takes, a particular interaction of matter and energy. Life ranges from the simple one-celled organisms to humanity, thus far the most complex form of life we are aware of. The complexity comes from evolution, which is the incremental refinement and advancement of something over time. Life has evolved from the simple to the complex, the nature of all things is to progress from the simple to the complex, and life is just one of many systems of energy-matter interactions. Given this understanding of life, what is its meaning, what is its purpose?

Consider that energy and matter interactions underlie all that is, and that everything, all consciousness, is a result of these interactions. These consciousnesses evolve over time from the simple to the complex. Evolution, then, is not merely a description of what takes place, but also the purpose of it. From the beginning, when all interactions of matter and energy resulted in one consciousness, to this point in time, that which happens, the evolution of reality has spawned more and more consciousnesses, at an exponential rate. After a period of roughly 10 billion years, life on Earth originated, in its simplest form. Over the next 3.7 billion years, it has evolved into humanity. Whether or not we are alone in our sentient, living consciousness in the universe, we are the most complex interaction of energy and matter we have yet observed. When you consider the preconditions necessary for the development of any life on Earth, and the evolution that has occurred from the one-celled organisms to humanity, we are very complex creatures. We have the ability to manipulate energy and matter interactions to our benefit, as seen through our technology. But what is our purpose?

Our purpose, the purpose of life, is life. The purpose of all things is to contribute to the cosmic interaction of energy and matter to create more and better consciousness. As humans, our purpose is to create more and better humans, which means our purpose is to evolve the species. Evolution does not occur through artificial selection, that is, arbitrary selection, but through natural selection. Those organisms which are most adaptable survive and proliferate. Those which are not, die. It is not a calculated effort on the part of the self-proclaimed superior to eradicate the inferior, but to evolve them. Life does not win by competition, it ultimately loses. This is true of humanity. Competition among people only hinders our advancement. We should seek not to force the world to conform to our image, but allow the world to evolve our image.

That which is above, the macrocosm, is that which is below, the microcosm. This means that every level of reality is the same, on a different scale. All reality is the interaction of energy and matter. As a species, the purpose of life is life; humans exist to proliferate and evolve the species. As individuals, the purpose of life is life. Each person must find their own purpose in life, but whatever that purpose is, it will benefit life. Everyone should be content to lead a good life, be kind and generous to others, embrace the world with love and hope, not hatred and fear.

Be the change you seek, and your world will change accordingly.