I Have a Question by Pooyan Sadeghi
I have a question. It's a doozie though, so I don't even know how to phrase it. But the gist of this question, in its general and simplified form, not pertaining to any particular subject, is such:
what are we doing here?
The "what" probably should be capitalized, as should the "we" and the "doing;" that will allow us to avoid religious connotations from the capitalization. The "what" is our state of being, i.e. what is the state of our reality? The "we" is straightforward, and represents our species. In my opinion, however, the core of the question lies in "doing." The "doing" has immediacy of current action, and carries with it intent – also to be considered as planning for future states. We specify the question with the "here," such as: what are we doing (this afternoon for lunch)?
I think the general form of the question has a quality of specificity to our general state of existence. We could imagine that the question could also be phrased as: what is my/our purpose? But this does not quite capture the importance of some rather rudimentary points or the question itself. First, we – i.e. our species – exist. To dispute this is ridiculous with the necessary assumptions we have to make in order to exist. Second, we are dynamic creatures doing things constantly in and to an ever changing environment, with change taking place on variable scales and often difficult to perceive precisely or accurately. Scale is important as I said, and already we have reached an important inflection point to understanding the specified general question. Because we exist, and we are dynamic creatures, we hold a certain responsibility towards the states of existence in which we participate. I earlier avoided religious connotations, because here already we have a problem. For a god to be part of one's understanding of the universe implies that the universe, if you will, is god or is god's. We are guests on his watch, however transient our time with him may be. Thus, your actions in your mortal life are to save your soul, or secure your soul to god. However, because of the very fact that you can effect change to your environment, and be affected by your environment as well – and keep in mind that you are not alone but are part of a 'we' that you are tied to in your very definition – you are responsible for the states of existence that are the universe you live. So that is a decent description of the question I've got in mind. Next time I sit down with this in mind, I would like to describe a bit more about "doing," what it means to us and where it leads us.
what are we doing here?
The "what" probably should be capitalized, as should the "we" and the "doing;" that will allow us to avoid religious connotations from the capitalization. The "what" is our state of being, i.e. what is the state of our reality? The "we" is straightforward, and represents our species. In my opinion, however, the core of the question lies in "doing." The "doing" has immediacy of current action, and carries with it intent – also to be considered as planning for future states. We specify the question with the "here," such as: what are we doing (this afternoon for lunch)?
I think the general form of the question has a quality of specificity to our general state of existence. We could imagine that the question could also be phrased as: what is my/our purpose? But this does not quite capture the importance of some rather rudimentary points or the question itself. First, we – i.e. our species – exist. To dispute this is ridiculous with the necessary assumptions we have to make in order to exist. Second, we are dynamic creatures doing things constantly in and to an ever changing environment, with change taking place on variable scales and often difficult to perceive precisely or accurately. Scale is important as I said, and already we have reached an important inflection point to understanding the specified general question. Because we exist, and we are dynamic creatures, we hold a certain responsibility towards the states of existence in which we participate. I earlier avoided religious connotations, because here already we have a problem. For a god to be part of one's understanding of the universe implies that the universe, if you will, is god or is god's. We are guests on his watch, however transient our time with him may be. Thus, your actions in your mortal life are to save your soul, or secure your soul to god. However, because of the very fact that you can effect change to your environment, and be affected by your environment as well – and keep in mind that you are not alone but are part of a 'we' that you are tied to in your very definition – you are responsible for the states of existence that are the universe you live. So that is a decent description of the question I've got in mind. Next time I sit down with this in mind, I would like to describe a bit more about "doing," what it means to us and where it leads us.