Many people believe that the purpose of life is to pass your genes on to the next generation, but that is just fulfilling your obligation to the survival of your species.

Your personal purpose in life is to enjoy it.

And if you do get the chance to pass on your genes, enjoying life will make you the best parent and role model possible, so it also serves the purpose of the species.

Some believe that their goal in life is to be constantly happy, but that is not the same thing as enjoying life.

We can’t expect to be happy all the time. If you’ve ever had a pet, you’ll notice that the pet doesn’t complain when it’s hurt or in pain. The human animal is the only one that says, “Why me?” — as if it is our birthright to be happy all the time.

Sometimes we’re sad or angry or depressed. But if rather than fighting against it, like it’s wrong and some kind of disorder, you just relax into the emotion and ride it through until it’s over, it doesn’t have to be a gut-wrenching experience. It’s good to experience these extreme emotions: it let’s you know you’re alive and feeling. It is possible to enjoy not just the ups of life, but also the downs if you just let go and enjoy it—enjoy being alive.

Because it’s a lot more enjoyable than the alternative.

Of course, some situations are easier to enjoy than others.

And part of your purpose as a human being is to, whenever possible, simply remove yourself from situations you are not enjoying.

Most of the time, however, you will discover that it is not situations that are preventing your life from being enjoyable, but thoughts—and, to a lesser but no less significant degree, the actions those thoughts lead to.

Because it is those actions, brought on by distorted thoughts and erroneous beliefs, that make life unmanageable in the first place.

To be continued…

…in an upcoming post about “The Big Bag of Shit You Carry With You Everywhere and Really Need to Flush Down the Toilet Immediately So You Can Start Living.”