What are we here for?

     That is actually a very important question. One that we need to ask ourselves.

      It is not enough to simply have a purpose.  Rather, one's purpose must be non-trivial -- one that makes a difference and inspires a desire, even a need to live.  It is not enough that God wishes us to live so as to love and praise Him. That would be merely ego-stroking -- unworthy of our own human souls and of the self-sufficiency of the loving and compassionate Deity.  We are created in the image and likeness of the infinite and all-powerful creative consciousness that summoned this universe into existence.  And we can say more, we are the crown of that creation, given a special purpose commensurate with our capacity to contemplate and recognize the wonder of the Deity and its creation.  She has given us the job of being stewards of this Earth, and the vision of Heaven.

       It is for us to seek to achieve this vision of Heaven within the range of our own consciousness and accomplishment -- to create Eden here and on all the other worlds that we may be able to reach, and to so transform ourselves in the process that we may find a harmony with any other intelligent species we may meet.  We are given the task, the purpose to bring life into the galaxy we call home, to cherish all of the life forms that we may save from the planet of our birth, and to safeguard the survival of any other kinds of life we may find.

       More, we are meant to encounter other intelligent species, including those here on Earth (the cetaceans), and learn to value and coexist with them, even communicate and share with them.  Such other sentient species also are created in the image and likeness of God, whom they know from their own perspective, and who cares for them just as He does for us.  Intelligent stewardship and organization, cultivation and distribution, even communion with the various forms of life which Deity has created the universe to express... THIS is what we are here for.  That is what it means to be created in the image and likeness of God.  That is our purpose, and it is non-trivial... it is profound and all-important, insofar as it continues the Deity's own work of creation.

       We are created from the elements and laws of the Big Bang, from the dust of exploded stars, from the detritus of once living creatures that evolved to shape the ball of matter we call Earth, and yet it was all done with a purpose... an intelligent plan. WE are the dust motes of consciousness, sparks or shards (depending on your perspective) of God's light seeking the experiences of adventure and community.  It is our individual task to learn to value the ideals of Truth, Freedom, Love and Wisdom, and the principles of justice, equality, fraternity and liberty.  Our experiences are God's, and enrich His/Her Being -- just as they give meaning to our own.