Author Bruce Barcomb opens his book, The Change Agent Paradigm Shift in Consciousness, with:
The 2014 movie, Lucy, starring Scarlett Johansson, tells the story of a young woman who is forced to unlock 100 percent of her mind’s potential. In her evolution, she becomes self-aware of her imminent mortality and questions what to do with this essential information and knowledge. As the story progresses, she contacts a world-renowned expert on the human brain, Professor Samuel Norman, played by Morgan Freeman. Lucy agrees with several of Professor Norman’s fundamental assertions:
You know… If you think about the very nature of life-I mean, on the very beginning, the development of the first cell divided into two cells-the sole purpose of life has been to pass on what was learned. There was no higher purpose. So if you’re asking me what to do with all this knowledge you’re accumulating, I say… Pass it on…
Reflecting on the movie ‘Lucy,’ the sole purpose, meaning of life, is to pass along knowledge and information to the next generation, to make it better for the next. Humans as a species are here for a finite period of time on this plane of existence, and it is what we leave behind that will hopefully be for the betterment of humanity. We take absolutely nothing with us when we pass from this plane of existence.
Barcomb’s first book, The Change Agent from 30,000 Feet, had a chapter entitled, Meaning of Life. The title was a takeaway from the comedic talents of Monty Python’s movie, “The Meaning of Life.”
Barcomb wrote, “Noblesse Oblige,” translated nobility obligates, which means we can all make a positive difference in the lives of others if we choose. Yale graduate Sargent Shriver had a vision of service that took root during the Kennedy Administration. He founded the Peace Corps, Head Start, Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA), Job Corps, Legal Services, Foster Grandparents, and more. He was active in the organization founded by his wife Eunice Shriver, The Special Olympics. He believed in the old adage that it was nobler to give then receive. Within the Oxford Group practices, this would be the fulfillment of their highest practice of putting your precepts into action.
The legacy we leave for others is that we came, imprinted our mark on life, and then left. Some of us will do this seemingly insignificantly, while some will do it within the eye of the public. But whatever we do, we should do with greatness of heart.
If “I AM” here in the NOW, living my life via my genuine truth, then reason would dictate that “I AM” exactly where I should be. I can be no different than I am given the grace that life has afforded me. If my outcome is meant to be different, then I ultimately have the obligation to follow the path given to me. Truth and enlightenment will come to us in degrees, hence traveling the path of life. We are always in the process of evolving. So, if we are open to change and listen to the truth of our heart, it will guide us towards it’s fulfillment in the NOW. Anything else is living for the future while possibly negating the present.
For if it is by grace that our human condition finds salvation, then practically any path will lead us to our truth, or new awakening. If as in The Meaning of Life, where every day in Heaven was Christmas, I cannot attest to this celestial find. However, each of us is only awakened to the extent that grace is afforded to us. If our heart, mind, body, and spirit are set upon a path of self-destruction despite awakening, then it is because we are not afforded our fullest measure of grace to survive in the NOW.
In summary, the meaning of life is that we are, can evolve, upgrade, and adapt to life’s circumstances. We can transcend many limitations and improve the quality of life for others if we choose. Whatever we know materially today will be gone when we are no more. We cannot live individually, or as a society, beyond our means in quiet lives of desperation without negatively influencing the lives of others. The quality of our life is not necessarily governed by the quantity of life. All we can do is embrace the changes that life will send our way and live it to the grace of our genuine truth that exists within us.
Carl Jung stated, “In the final analysis, we count for something only because of the essentials we embody, and if we do not embody that, life is wasted.”