On an introspective journey, one has several revelations and discoveries. This journey has a special purpose, which is to find the Purpose of Life and what drives us.
As we encounter and deal with different thoughts, we tend to get exhausted on the way. There are self-made boundaries in the mind, which hold us back. All we need is a little bit of a nudge - externally or internally to go past that and discover something about ourselves.
The 'Quest' to find purpose is the 'purpose'.

The journey of a curious mind

<img alt="Ashutosh Raj" src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/1*paIijT-SVsc3LY1r1_4pzQ" width="28" height="28">As I sit silent, quiet, without a word, and stare at the wall, I go deep into my thoughts, start my travel into a world of dreams and imagination. I think of time, of life and its purpose, then slowly drift further and get engulfed into a quicksand of questions and reasoning, which provoke my small, confused, yet curious mind to look for answers, myself, and henceforth this piece of writing.<figure><img alt="" src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/0*F7uY3itiUd4U4XtN" width="430" height="322"></figure>As I was walking down a quiet, slightly wet road, a result of a pre-monsoon drizzle, in the night, lit up with nothing but dim, shimmering street light; a thought about life sparked my mind’s curiosity. The question which erupted in my mind was seemingly simple yet an unanswered one: What is it that we are after in our lives? What is our motivation? What is it that drives us in life? What is the “purpose” of our life?As I walk thinking about it, my pace falls gradually, my mind grows conscious and curious as never before, craving to know the greatest truth about life, as a result of which I become more observant about everything. I hear the leaves rustling by the gentle breeze, a pleasant one as if walking by my side like a constant companion, patting my back and motivating me to keep walking, keep striving till the end of the line which itself remains undefined. But even so, I walk. I walk as if it was the only thing I was destined to ever do. My mind shifts focus towards the dim streetlights that grow dimmer as I walk forth, but never completely fade away. I observe the shadow of the trees caused by the incident dim light, cast upon the slippery road. The lights, my mind presumes are guides to somewhere or “nowhere”. Yet, I walk. My mind, even more, active and curious to know what lies beyond, after the lights completely fade away or to know if they ever do so. It feels that on reaching there it would find all the mysteries, problems, questions of the universe; solved, unveiled, revealed and answered. And at the same time, it feels afraid, because of a lingering doubt of not finding anything there. What if it is pitch dark there? What if, everything it grew curious about is a giant plot, a hoax? Amidst all this, my legs don’t stop, they walk!I look up at the sky, my eyes searching for the end of it. I had never looked at the night sky, a non-starry one for so long. I was struck hard upon realizing that my eyes were not capable of seeing beyond infinity. My mind stops for a second and thinks to itself, whether it was given only limited power, not enough to unravel the mysteries of life. Amidst all these realizations coming my way and my mind losing faith and suffering setbacks, I walk!The lights grow dimmer, the breeze slower, and it all comes to a complete standstill as if time stopped without anyone having the power to make it run again, as if time got engulfed in the loop of time itself. My mind presumes eternal darkness all around it, unable to understand anything about the very thing it grew curious about. Still, I walk! The shadows of the trees grow bigger and larger as if trying to warn me of utter darkness ahead, wanting for me to retreat. The silence becomes silent like never before, like the one persisting before a fierce storm, but much more. Never had my mind feared more than this very night, a fearful night. But like a faithful and loyal soldier, loyal to his duties, my legs don’t stop.My mind encounters a sudden thump, and chills run down my whole body. My mind shifts focus from the outside to the “inside”. My mind which had reached heights of being observant had until now failed to look inside. It had failed to observe itself and the body it resides in.But now, like a sage achieving enlightenment, my mind realizes the whole story and the essence of it. What was it that kept me going on the road, even though everything appeared vague or rather frightful? What was it that drove my legs? What made me go forth even though my mind seemingly insisted otherwise at some points in time?It finally heard the answer from within: It wasn’t the “destiny” or “purpose” which drove you and it wasn’t your duty, even to continue on the track. It wasn’t your bravery either, that kept you going. All it was, was the curiosity to search for your purpose. The very thing that kept you going was your search, your desire to look for destiny, and the very “hope”, that you would find it. Your body was just a means then, to take you further ahead in your journey, without looking back.My mind, hence received the satisfaction it was long searching for, a realization: “The thing that drives us in life is not the purpose itself, for we don’t truly know it, but rather the search for it, coupled with the hope of finding it once and for all. The purpose of life is to ‘find’ the very purpose.”

As I sit silent, quiet, without a word, and stare at the wall, I go deep into my thoughts, start my travel into a world of dreams and imagination. I think of time, of life and its purpose, then…

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

As I sit silent, quiet, without a word, and stare at the wall, I go deep into my thoughts, start my travel into a world of dreams and imagination. I think of time, of life and its purpose, then slowly drift further and get engulfed into a quicksand of questions and reasoning, which provoke my small, confused, yet curious mind to look for answers, myself, and henceforth this piece of writing.

As I was walking down a quiet, slightly wet road, a result of a pre-monsoon drizzle, in the night, lit up with nothing but dim, shimmering street light; a thought about life sparked my mind’s curiosity. The question which erupted in my mind was seemingly simple yet an unanswered one: What is it that we are after in our lives? What is our motivation? What is it that drives us in life? What is the “purpose” of our life?

As I walk thinking about it, my pace falls gradually, my mind grows conscious and curious as never before, craving to know the greatest truth about life, as a result of which I become more observant about everything. I hear the leaves rustling by the gentle breeze, a pleasant one as if walking by my side like a constant companion, patting my back and motivating me to keep walking, keep striving till the end of the line which itself remains undefined. But even so, I walk. I walk as if it was the only thing I was destined to ever do. My mind shifts focus towards the dim streetlights that grow dimmer as I walk forth, but never completely fade away. I observe the shadow of the trees caused by the incident dim light, cast upon the slippery road. The lights, my mind presumes are guides to somewhere or “nowhere”. Yet, I walk. My mind, even more, active and curious to know what lies beyond, after the lights completely fade away or to know if they ever do so. It feels that on reaching there it would find all the mysteries, problems, questions of the universe; solved, unveiled, revealed and answered. And at the same time, it feels afraid, because of a lingering doubt of not finding anything there. What if it is pitch dark there? What if, everything it grew curious about is a giant plot, a hoax? Amidst all this, my legs don’t stop, they walk!

I look up at the sky, my eyes searching for the end of it. I had never looked at the night sky, a non-starry one for so long. I was struck hard upon realizing that my eyes were not capable of seeing beyond infinity. My mind stops for a second and thinks to itself, whether it was given only limited power, not enough to unravel the mysteries of life. Amidst all these realizations coming my way and my mind losing faith and suffering setbacks, I walk!

The lights grow dimmer, the breeze slower, and it all comes to a complete standstill as if time stopped without anyone having the power to make it run again, as if time got engulfed in the loop of time itself. My mind presumes eternal darkness all around it, unable to understand anything about the very thing it grew curious about. Still, I walk! The shadows of the trees grow bigger and larger as if trying to warn me of utter darkness ahead, wanting for me to retreat. The silence becomes silent like never before, like the one persisting before a fierce storm, but much more. Never had my mind feared more than this very night, a fearful night. But like a faithful and loyal soldier, loyal to his duties, my legs don’t stop.

My mind encounters a sudden thump, and chills run down my whole body. My mind shifts focus from the outside to the “inside”. My mind which had reached heights of being observant had until now failed to look inside. It had failed to observe itself and the body it resides in.

But now, like a sage achieving enlightenment, my mind realizes the whole story and the essence of it. What was it that kept me going on the road, even though everything appeared vague or rather frightful? What was it that drove my legs? What made me go forth even though my mind seemingly insisted otherwise at some points in time?

It finally heard the answer from within: It wasn’t the “destiny” or “purpose” which drove you and it wasn’t your duty, even to continue on the track. It wasn’t your bravery either, that kept you going. All it was, was the curiosity to search for your purpose. The very thing that kept you going was your search, your desire to look for destiny, and the very “hope”, that you would find it. Your body was just a means then, to take you further ahead in your journey, without looking back.

My mind, hence received the satisfaction it was long searching for, a realization: “The thing that drives us in life is not the purpose itself, for we don’t truly know it, but rather the search for it, coupled with the hope of finding it once and for all. The purpose of life is to ‘find’ the very purpose.”

The journey of a Curious Mind

The journey of a curious mind

Ashutosh Raj's ideas are part of this journey:

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