bien raison d'être [much reason for being]

I'll begin with a little story. It's about a human being, like so many others; another little spec on this planet, who went from being a twinkle in two consenting adults' eyes, to this 'human' thing...thrust into this world in a matter of seconds and then BAM! Life begins! But why? What's it all for? What on earth...are we on earth for?!! And so we begin the searching...under this rock?...No. Behind that tree? In that teacup? (no, unless it's one of those giant Disneyland teacups...even then, no one would take a large whimsical teacup seriously if it went around proclaiming to hold the answers to the riddle of our existence. Wizards residing in Oz on the other hand... ) I digress.... In that job? In that relationship? No. No. No! Where am I? Who am I? Who is this 'me'?...Fact is, none of us know, but do we even really want to? After all, some of the most beautiful things have no explanation - they just are!

Still, we all search, and search our whole lives, for meaning, for purpose, for our own reason for being.

Raison d'être is a phrase borrowed from French where it means "reason for being"; in English use, it also comes to suggest a degree of rationalization, as "The claimed reason for the existence of something or someone".

The French concept is more elaborate than a simple statement. Once the reason an object exists is defined, criteria to measure the object's degree of success can be enumerated. For example, a phone has the purpose of enabling communication between two people. Some phones meet that goal better than others. When measurable criteria are known, gaps can be identified that show where the particular object fails to meet the prototypical object's reason for being. When gaps have been fully identified, strategies can be implemented to close the gaps and bring the object closer to the true fulfillment of its raison d'être.

We're all 'prototypical objects'; born original, full-scale and individual working models of the human form. Our designs are capable of amazing and individual feats, that is, when these 'designs' are aligned with a true sense of inner purpose. The only 'gaps' that hinder us in moving closer toward true fulfillment of our own raison d'être, are the layers of our own meddling and fickle ego's.

This little blog right here, is simply an exploration of my own 'design' and a means of trying to express its reason for being! I don't know about you, but I'm curious. Curious about trying, and seeing what happens. Each day is an opportunity to try and align ourselves with our basic goodness. Every situation, person we meet, is our teacher, our guide to learning and becoming more aware of ourselves. The signposts pointing us toward fulfillment of our reason for being are all out there, but it's up to us to open our hearts to them. Only we can decide whether we try. But life ain't fun if you don't try, so seek, explore, and be eternally curious about the life you've obtained. Be your own adventurer and you will find, there really is much reason for being.