Omphalos. I discovered a word today. Omphalos: and from that, this; the central fact.

First I must determine if I believe Humanity is the central fact of the Universe. Is our species the omphalos?

And from this, I am compelled to ask, am I the central fact of Humanity? Am I the omphalos?

In some sense, to consider myself the omphalos is unavoidable. Depending upon my bias or persuasion, I can only influence the expansiveness of this consideration.

This brings me to purpose. If purpose is “the reason for which something exists” and if Humanity is the omphalos and/or if I am the omphalos, then is it consistent and reasonable that my purpose becomes my existence? Do all other considerations such as goodness and contribution and compassion and productivity and justice and patience and creativity fall by the wayside? One may believe that they exhibit these characteristics, but if these characteristics are secondary to the central fact of one’s existence, how can they be truly judged? Saying this, one might misunderstand and be inclined to argue that “my” characteristics can only be judged by me, but that is the question; how can my judgement not be influenced favorably by my belief that I am the omphalos? How can our judgement not be influenced favorably by our belief that we are the omphalos? So even if I want to believe that I am good and compassionate and productive and just, this belief in my character cannot and will never supersede the central fact of my existence. Extending this thought, if I want to believe that my purpose is altruistic, for example to serve my family or my nation or my constituency or my fellow man or my God, I am distracting myself from my true purpose which is to justify my existence.

So, what if purpose is “the reason for which something exists” and I claim to believe that the act of creation (instead of that which has been created) is the omphalos. First, I must acknowledge the unavoidability of the fact of my centrality and recognize my Humanity in order to realistically limit the expansiveness of my existence. Once I have mechanisms in place to keep me in my place, I must acknowledge and actively recognize that goodness and contribution and compassion and productivity and justice and patience and creativity come from, (like me and like Humanity), creation, and I must work to create, and I must understand that my character comes from these acts of creation and cannot and will never reside in the results. Extending this thought, it is okay to begin with an end in mind, (i.e. goodness, contribution, compassion, productivity, justice, patience, creativity or …whatever), but I must find my purpose within each act of creation; I must expend more energy and effort on the act, and not focus solely on the result – and this greater focus on the act must remain consistent before the act, during the act, and after creation. I will learn more by examining my actions, than I will ever learn from partaking of the fruits of my labor. To define myself according to the results, (merely perceived or actual), is to believe that I am the omphalos.

This brings me to truth. If truth is “actuality or actual existence” and if my purpose is always in some sense existence, then in some sense, (perhaps a greater sense?), purpose is always truth. And, if I work to find purpose in the act of creation and not in the result, and if I successfully limit the expansiveness of my existence, then truth and purpose (at least in some sense) become verbs.

To review: I see four possibilities for finding purpose. To consider them I will choose Goodness as an example of a (possible) commonly stated overarching purpose.

1. I can state that my purpose is to do good, and I can endeavor to maintain a semblance of (unplanned and/or spontaneous) public consistency, and from this I can believe my words equal my objective. I could stop here and find purpose in my proclamation and in my intention.
2. But if I examine that proclamation and the inconsistency of my consistency, I cannot stop. I will understand that I am saying I must act to create potential for good. (There may be instances or unforeseen dynamics in which my actions do not result in goodness, and if this happens frequently, others may question my character; but if I mitigate or correct and learn from my mistakes, this evolution may actually strengthen my character.) And by acting to create potential for good, I am saying that the creation of potential naturally replaces intention because it extends it by acting upon it, and, because the act of creation comes first, it supersedes the resulting circumstance, thus becoming purpose. I could stop here and find purpose in the act of creation.
3. But when I am the omphalos, I will not stop. I will continue by considering the significance of my existence in bringing about any resulting goodness, and suddenly, because I came first, my existence supersedes any act and becomes purpose. I could stop here and find purpose in my existence.
4. But if I believe there is a greater central fact, (be it Humanity or Nature or my God or another Universal), I will not stop. I will continue in this way back and back and back to the first creation, (whether I believe that to be Civilization or the Big Bang or God or a Stack of Turtles or …whatever), and because that First Miracle of Creation came first, it supersedes all else and becomes The Ultimate Purpose. This is disconcerting (for me) because if Purpose was fulfilled at that moment, where / how / why do I seek and/or find purpose. I could stop here, at this point in this scenario, and to avoid overwhelming feelings of futility, I could find purpose in the promise of an afterlife, or a legacy, or fame, or infamy or sometimes simply no hard feelings.

I am better to choose #2 because creation precedes, thus supersedes, existence. Without an act of creation there is no truth.

I cannot deny or ignore the centrality (i.e. distraction) of existence, and I am not disputing an Unmoved Mover or the validity of (in some way) being remembered. But I believe I personally will come closer to the truth of purpose by working (on my small scale) to emulate that first miracle of creation.

This leads me to a new thought consistent with an act of creation as omphalos. I frequently remark that Truth is an unattainable ideal. Perhaps I am actually referring to the truth of purpose because purpose will always be diluted by my existence. Because I cannot remove myself from the centrality of my self, I will never experience the purity of creation. My acts of creation will always be tied to their results and to my existence. The best I can do is to continue to find purpose in the act of creation, influence the expansiveness of my existence, and constantly remind myself that the act of creation (not that which has been created) is the omphalos.

Alternatively, those who find purpose in their existence will believe they have found a less diluted or (even) a pure truth in their existence and in the existence of other nouns, most especially those nouns they may attribute to their existence.

Essentially, to find purpose in an act of creation is to prompt or inspire continuous acts of creation, thus driving and/or urging one forward. Whereas, to find purpose in existence is to stop to admire successes and to justify failures, thus impeding productivity, contribution and progress.

I do believe that the act of creation is the omphalos and to find purpose in an act of creation is to come closer to truth (or Truth) than any other path to purpose. I can look at my 463 successive weeks of posting written thought as evidence that supports my belief. In these acts of creation, I have prompted and inspired more acts of creation, and in so doing, I have limited my opportunities to stop and admire, and, (due to lack of readership), I have not been tempted to justify my thought to others. Yes; I constantly assess and judge my thoughts and actions, and my thoughts do influence my reactions to others and guide my side of serious conversation, which all goes to character, but more importantly, this habitual creation translates to personal learning and growth enabling potential for progress. Yet, I understand as well that by presenting this evidence, I am also presenting evidence that I do consider myself the omphalos and to do so is unavoidable. I remain both yin and yang.