I am in my late forties. So as I age, time becomes more and more valuable as I have less left. This acts as a catalyst in my thinking about the rest of the time I have in the world and thus the question of purpose becomes bigger and bigger everyday. Without the biases of any institutional religion, I am left to believe that the totality of humankind as a whole is the most important over the individual success or importance. If you look at nature, it is a cooperative. If you look at the stars, we see constellations. Everywhere the power and importance of many is evident. Yet, many of us seek individual gain over the majority. We become self-centered — focused on body and intellect. Both our body and intellect is just a collection of food and information we gained over time. We are more than that. We are a collective consciousness that is lost. We must seek to become connected to this consciousness and become free. That’s how I feel these days as I see no degree of personal success will ever make me part of this potentially most important thing we call the human being. Hope this makes some sense. Sorry for long response. Just a core dump from my brain’s uncharted corners that seek to connect with others like you.