When you take a look at your life up till the present point, you realise the remarkable journey you have been on and the kind of person you are today compared to your past selves.
In a way, we evolve as we progress further into our lives and that is kind of what life demands of us in order to be able to face ever gigantic challenges in our path forward.
It seems like change and evolution is engrained into the very fabric of life. Not only do species evolve over time and adapt according to the surroundings, we evolve within our own lifespan as well, in so many different ways. I guess that is what you call 'growing as an individual'.
As always, change is not easy. It's turbulent by its very nature. It is a departure from the familiar and that is not something one wants to do readily. But alas, it is necessary.
On A Constant Road of Evolution
When we are little, we don't have too many concerns and so we can go about our lives completely oblivious to the realities of the world. As we grow older, education becomes the greatest concern.
In a world that loves competition, we quickly learn the stress associated with that mentality. So, we grow into people that can handle that stress and do well in our tests or at least well enough.
After education, our careers become the next big concern as it literally defines who you are in the modern society. Also, since money is really important, one seeks something lucrative. Once again, life demands evolution to be able to handle all of that, which includes honing a particular set of skills.
The point is that we are on a constant road of evolution, whether we like it or not. The challenges are plenty and somehow keep getting bigger and so, the only choice you have is to evolve and become someone stronger, to be able to deal with those challenges.
What's The Point of It All?
Even though one might know about all this, it is natural to think about the point of it all. Why evolve and gather a plethora of experiences throughout one's life only to go away forever. Doesn't it render all of that meaningless?
Well, it depends on the way you look at it. First of all, it's the reality, so it doesn't matter what you think - you still have to go through with it. But if you really want to think about it from a philosophical point of view, I think one can look at it as a way of leaving behind a legacy.
Whatever work we do or money we earn or the impact we have on the environment, all get passed down to the next generation. And they build on top of your legacy. So, even if you life doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, your legacy does, even if it's something small.
And I might be going into woo-woo land here, but who knows, there might be an afterlife and we could be proud of our journey here on Earth? In any case, we must do our best to keep evolving. After all, the journey is more important than the destination!