The beauty of no purpose

In our fast paced life it is common to expect of ourselves and others a purpose or a point to everything we do. The modern gurus of personal development will often tell us: “Life is short. Don’t waste time. What is the point of what you are doing. Is it going to deliver tangible results and get you closer to where you are going.”

 

While I understand some of this and recognise it is at times valid, I also believe we need to inject a bit of Eastern Wisdom into our lives and incorporate complete and utter purposelessness into it.

 

When there has to be a point or a purpose to everything we do, the joy of the activity is often removed with it. There is no set destination within a dance. The purpose of the dance is just to dance and move. Music is the same. It is about the melody and not a purposeful ending. The surfer also surfs without an ending as do many physical movement specialists.

 

One of my instructors was recently asked by his friend “Why are you still training in Martial Arts? “What are you doing with it and what is the point?” My Instructor replied “I just do it for the sake of doing it.” His friend just couldn’t get it. He had been led to believe there had to be an identifiable purpose, an end result to everything we do.

 

The paradox of this is that when we perform things for the joy of doing it, we remove an inner conflict that focuses on the point or end goal. This often results in a heightened, present awareness that creates a greater joy and meaningful experience of what we are doing. A discovery of meaning without searching for it.

 

This then creates within itself a purpose from no purpose.