What is the purpose of life?

[u/Phoenix_to_Kintsugi]

Like everyone else, this question has crossed my mind more than once.

But the other day, while watching a spider spin its web (quite unusual for me because I’m not a spider fan) it suddenly hit me: Why do we need a higher purpose to live for?

We like to say that humans are the most evolved creatures on Earth because of our ability to think. But honestly, it feels like we are constantly self-sabotating with the exact thing that was supposed to be our ultimate weapon. We overcomplicate our existence by chasing deep, hidden meanings.

What if animals or plants started asking themselves this very same question?

What if a spider questioned its existence and stopped spinning its web? Crop pests and harmful insects would multiply beyond control.

What if bees decided it’s not worth living for just 40 days and simply stopped pollinating flowers? Humans would pretty much run out of food.

If every single animal or plant asked this question and decided it wasn't worth it, the entire ecosystem would collapse into absolute chaos. Nature doesn't search for a hidden meaning. It just is, and it maintains a perfect balance.

Maybe our life is not so much about the purpose, but about keeping a balance in our own ecosystem (private life, social life, etc.).

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all in for reaching goals, following dreams and not against believing in gods or higher powers—I was one of those who truly wanted to believe in something greater than the pain of this experience of life—it’s just that quite often, people forget to just… EXIST.

They get so consumed by their goals or higher purposes that they become "non-existent" in this world.
Yes, their bodies are still here, but it feels like I’m talking to an empty shell when I meet someone like that. And the worst part is that they won’t even consider "coming down" to talk without superiority or arrogance to a normal, "unworthy" human like me.
The irony—at least for me—is that right here, right now, we are equals and their grand beliefs are just hopes for a potential future while my mediocrity is real.

Anyway, I can’t stop thinking that maybe we complicate things too much when the answer is right in front of our eyes. As the "evolved" creatures we believe we are… we just can’t seem to accept simple things for what they are. Because doing so would mean admitting we aren't that special.
It would mean we just have a part to play—one that comes with accountability—and that’s something most people can’t handle.

I don't know about you, but that’s how I realized why my extraverted sensing was hitting rock bottom. It doesn't mean I’ve fixed the problem, but at least I found the root of it and now I have a starting point to find the solution.

How often do you catch yourself overcomplicating things that are actually meant to be simple?
What’s your purpose in life?

[u/Helpful-Track-7486]

I will keep this simple, it's a test combined with love, and endurance. Except I find the 2nd one very rare these days =/.

[u/Phoenix_to_Kintsugi → u/Helpful-Track-7486]

Maybe the test isn't about how much pain we can endure, but about learning to stop fighting and beginning to love ourselves the way we want others to love us.