there is no why

There is no why

A human mind loves this question: Why? Why has some event happened? Why did you do something, what was the motivation? Why are we here? What is our mission in life?

And yet this why question is not intrinsic to existence. It comes about when our mind thinks in time, with a past and with a future. We love the question so much that just dropping it is very difficult for many people. And yet on the spiritual journey the why questions do drop away.

As we come to live more in the moment, without regard for the past or future, we do not need chains of causation. And it turns out those chains of causation had previously been created by our mind, as a storyline; a sort of entertainment, to juice up a sequence of moments and string them together, to give them direction, and to allow us to fantasise about the future. But as the past and future melt away, and we are left with the present moment, we see that it is causeless – without cause – arising as it is, in this moment. And similarly, when we look at our actions, we see that they are arising without motive and that our motives are something we make up after we have begun the action, after the decision is made. Then we make up a story as to why we are doing something. But that motive is not true, it’s not real. It’s created post hoc, after the event, as a justification; again to give a story, a thread through time, from the past and into the future, a sense of continuity, and a feeling of… a feeling of righteousness which comes when we justify ourself.

In truth, there is no purpose to life, there is no meaning. And if that sounds too bleak, I can put it more positively: The meaning of every moment is the moment itself. The beauty of a butterfly does not need any extra meaning or purpose. And so it is with everything in life. The moment as it is, is just perfect. It is complete in itself. It does not need reference to the past or future. And it does not need any meaning over and above its own existence.

And so it is with ourselves. We do not need to justify our existence, or who we are, or what we do. Life is a flow, unfolding, ever changing, unpredictable, causeless, and meaningless. But there is a great beauty in that meaninglessness, an immense beauty. It makes everything noble. For when an event is happening without reason, without motive, it is pure. Any motivation is a corruption compared with that.

So do not be afraid to allow the illusion of meaning to drop away from your life. You will be coming to live in truth. And you will find that truth is beautiful without meaning, without the why.