This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.
[Idolatry as] the moments when we forget who we really are and instead of remembering that we are sparks of the Divine, we start giving up our power to a guru, an ideology, a romantic obsession, a stressful job that begins to define us, or an unhealthy habit we think we can’t live without. Even is we no longer build or worship physical idols like in ancient times, we have modern-day addictions and pressures that cause us to forget that our purpose here is to be a vehicle for Divine energies.
Cause | Day | Giving | Habit | Obsession | Power | Purpose | Purpose | Worship | Think |
A meaningful life is also not one that has merely instrumental value to some goal, even if the goal is divine. This suggests two important conclusions; First, meaningful activities are those that have a certain kind of non-instrumental value, and a meaningful life is one that consists of such activities. Second, derived from this, the meaning of a life must be in the living of it, or rather in the way it is lived. These are important conclusions, because they apply even if God has a purpose in mind for us and even if there is an everlasting afterlife. Even if there is a goal worth struggling for, the meaning is in the struggle.
Afterlife | God | Important | Life | Life | Meaning | Mind | Purpose | Purpose | Struggle | Worth | God | Value |
I find that if I remind myself (frequently) that the purpose of life isn't to get it all done but to enjoy each step along the way and live a life filled with love, it's far easier for me to control my obsession with completing my list of things to do.
Control | Life | Life | Love | Obsession | Purpose | Purpose |
Jacques Barzun, fully Jacques Martin Barzun
Man is simply here; he has to make what he can of a universe that is not even hostile but strange and uncertain. Man is never given a purpose or mission; he must devise them for himself, knowing that their fulfillment has no external justification or reward - altogether and absurd situation.
Absurd | Fulfillment | Justification | Knowing | Man | Mission | Purpose | Purpose | Reward | Universe |
Being Those who are driven by a burning desire or higher purpose usually achieve great deeds. This purpose transcends money, security, or status. It is the knowledge that they are part of something worthy, right, and valuable.
Deeds | Desire | Knowledge | Money | Purpose | Purpose | Right | Security |
If humanity, or life in general, was created to serve a particular purpose beyond itself, our being would be analogous to a manufactured artifact. There seems to be little in this state of affairs to justify the exultation that religious people sometimes feel in thinking that God's plan reveals the purpose and the meaning of all reality.
God | Humanity | Justify | Life | Life | Little | Meaning | People | Plan | Purpose | Purpose | Reality | Thinking |
If you were all alone in the universe with no one to talk to, no one with which to share the beauty of the stars, to laugh with, to touch, what would be your purpose in life? It is other life, it is love, which gives your life meaning. This is harmony. We must discover the joy of each other, the joy of challenge, the joy of growth.
Beauty | Challenge | Growth | Harmony | Joy | Life | Life | Love | Meaning | Purpose | Purpose | Universe | Beauty |