The Pursuit of Life’s Purpose in Our Final Years

If we do not devote our lives to pursuing any path, then we either waste time on several different pursuits and we end our lives with nothing, or we live like animals with no pursuit for any higher purpose. We, however, do not determine whether or not we pursue a higher purpose. It is determined in our desires.

I personally never imagined myself pursuing wealth, power or fame, because I could not pursue corporeal goals that end together with the person’s life. Today, especially, I am already over seventy years old. Let’s say that I have another ten years left to live. What’s next? If I aim at corporeal goals, then I’m left with nothing and it is all over. What, then, should I do in these ten years?

A common answer to this question for a person in their elderly years is to invest in their garden, grow flowers, watch TV and enjoy their children and grandchildren. I’m definitely not against those engagements. The wisdom of Kabbalah obliges us to participate in everyday life, but the purpose of life should still be our north star that guides us.

A classic notion is that an elderly person will have their children around to give them a glass of water in their old age. But what difference does it make in how a person dies? What comes next if one’s children will or will not bring them water in their old age? That is where everything ends.

For instance, let’s say that I live in a special five-star nursing home with caretakers pampering me like a small child, wiping and bottle-feeding me until I happily fall asleep in their arms, soothed by eternal restful sleep. Is that all that is left of me? Why did I live my life?

Indeed, most people think about how to live the final years of their lives as comfortably as possible. But those who were granted a desire to discover the purpose of life, which led them to the study of Kabbalah, understand that if they do not find life’s purpose, then the current life is of no use to them; and it would be better if it did not exist.