Charlie the TV Box: Assigning Purpose Day 248

Charlie the TV Box: Assigning Purpose

In a house, in a town, somewhere was Charlie. He sat all day on a table, and faced the couch. He had a nice big screen, not too big like one of those more expensive models. But big enough, and big enough for what? Well, Charlie was a TV box. He sat all day and all night, and would play programming. That is what he did.

Depending on the day of the week and who was home, he would play certain programs. Maybe movies, or a culinary show. There was also Saturday morning cartoons. So this was his life, day in and day out. On and off. Not much to say about this life, huh? This is all he did and lived for. But was this really living? Could Charlie say he was alive? Charlie could say he had a name, he had a job, he provided a service, he had awareness, but does all of that mean he was living?

I asked Charlie the above question, and do you know what he said? No, it wasn’t. Because he knew living is not what he did, despite that he had a job, was busy, provided a service, had a name and awareness. How did he know? He just knew that there was something else, something more to life. And it doesn’t have to do with the work he does per se, there is just something he is not getting or something that is missing within him. So I told Charlie, why not find out what that is? Find out what is missing and correct that within you. And do you know what Charlie said? He quoted one of his favorite shows “why there has never been such a brilliant idea since the birth of existence.” So Charlie got up from right there where he sat, and started his journey.

Charlie spent days, weeks, months until what seemed like forever. He read, wrote, asked himself questions, looked for answers. He discussed with people on such points, sought their perspectives, including mine. Until he came upon something startling. He didn’t know why he spent his whole life being a television. He simply accepted that role and that is what he allowed his whole life. He never really considered or made a decision on what to be/do with his time in this one life. And when he shared his realization with me, I was startled because the same was true for me too! And so we had an idea, to ask and see whether it was true for others as well. And we found for the most part, people felt like they fell into their roles/lives/jobs/works, that there was no agency really or decision making or planning process involved. Sometimes you had people following their passions in life or what they like doing. But Charlie pointed something interesting out. When you ask such persons, why do they do what they do, they say in response, I like doing that. Charlie said he wouldn’t be satisfied with only liking what you do, and doing only what you like doing, because he notice that the pain/discomfort or challenges are things he faced and walked through willingly, which is something he didn’t like, yet it was done because he had a goal to accomplish. So even these people who follow a passion that they are limited to only what is enjoyable/likeable and thus have an aversion to difficulty/hardship. I completely agreed with Charlie as I had seen the same within my life.

Charlie then was on the path to assigning himself purpose, which involved standing objectively, absolutely, and unwavering he found. Because a purpose that does not stand the test of time, and changes in situations/circumstances, is a fruitless and limited purpose and will lead to a limited outcome/life. And if there is one thing we agree on is that we wish to not be limited, but instead have a full life. Ultimately Charlie had decided his purpose, but that is a story for another time…