So in your view the strong are happy and the weak are not. Also you seem to imply that we all get weaker as we age so we will increasingly be less able to overcome challenges and therefore less able to be happy. So the young and the strong are the only ones that can maintain happiness in your view?

And if THE purpose of life does not lie beyond ourselves, what then?

The purpose of life is to fart about.

So you think there is a higher ovum but not a specific all powerful egg?

I was thinking that the older we get the more chalanges in life we face, and more failure we experiance and the more failure one experiances the weaker the mind gets because a person after a few failures limits their freedom of mind by puting restriction on them selves. Thinking "I cann't to this", is many times the result of a previous failed experiance. People can get stronger by overcoming all the chalanges, but failure makes them weaker. People who can not deal with problems in life are unhappy, people who can deal withtheir problems are at times happy and other times not, people who enjoy giving themselves chalanges and enjoy the process of overcoming obsticles in life have the higher possability of being happy.

I have to call into question the notion that the older we get, the weaker our mind gets.

If we have learned how to cope with failure, we regard each failure as a learning experience, a chance to do better the next time. We tell ourselves: "Each failure is a stepping-stone to success." Coping with failure may take time to learn, and thus we find that wisdom comes with age. Usually, when we see (someone we would refer to as) a wise man - or woman - s/he is over 50.

We can -- though not all do -- grow more mature with age; we can acquire maturity. If Shinto taught Ahhax all those insights about living life to the fullest, then my respect for Shinto has greatly increased!

I thoroughly agree with the points made in the original post. In a future post here, I shall contribute for your information - and for those who care to [and have the wisdom to] use them some web links which serve as guides to self-improvement.

My view of life is a bit different, though it dovetails some parts of your viewpoint. I believe that I am here to explore, and means for exploration are games that we play with others. Life is a Play, and we are all playing different roles as well as being in the audience.

Rich

That too.

I have learned that we may have more than purpose in life ...and that life may have many meanings. What follows may prove very useful to some, to those who take advantage of its insights, and make the most of them:

THE ART OF MAKING LIFE-CHANGING DECISIONS

How does a person arrive at a decision, especially about an important matter, say, for example, the decision whether to pursue morality, whether to live up to the highest standard and principle of Ethics?

Eventually we need to differentiate ourselves as we figure out who we are. We notice how we, as an individual, are different from others. Gradually, I answer the question: Who am I?

The more you define yourself, the easier decisions will come.

If, for example, you say: "I'm not my mere body at this instant; I am a spirit inhabiting a body. I am here for loving service. I serve others through humor. (Or music, or scientific research, or whatever it may be in your unique case........) My purpose is to bring them closer to the highest of high values -- or to all the high values rolled into one, which may be called Goodness. As they get closer to Goodness, the best in them will be brought out." Once you say this, or something similar which you work out yourself, you will know exactly how to decide in most cases.

You will decide in favor of that course of action which gets you closer to that goal you have set -- in this illustration it was the goal of loving service to others.

Another example: ----You may define yourself as a Householder: someone who will devote himself to making his wife happy, and who will manage a home for her. Or a woman might decide to devote herself to the success of her marriage, however she ends up defining that. You may set as a goal to become all you are capable of being and becoming.

Since there are many paths to the top of the mountain, you may take any route which gets you there..........perhaps you will serve on a Board which volunteers to help manage a condominium; or to provide food to the desperately hungry; or to beautify a strip of land which has gone to neglect and become filled with weeds and litter. ----It all follows from your singular definition of yourself as one who wants to serve----
So figure out who you really are, and the rest will take care of itself.

Everything Starts with Our Thoughts: Our thoughts are filtered by our beliefs. Our beliefs create our attitudes. Our attitudes control our emotions. Our emotions determine our choices. Our choices govern our actions. And our actions generate results.
The good news: "YOU" are not your thoughts!
You can step back and become aware of your thoughts. You can become aware of their positive or negative impact on your behavior. You can learn to proactively change what you are thinking and create the results you desire.

You can straighten out your thinking.

As long as you think you are not a success, you haven't yet straightened out your thinking.
Recall what Emerson said about success:
"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children...to leave the world a better place...to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded."
---------------------------------------------------- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Study Formal Axiology to see what you can learn about values, about which way is up. Regard each day as a new opportunity to really live! Learn what you can about Health Science so that you take good care of your body, and thus keep physical pain to a minimum, since pain can distract you from getting to your goals. {One link that will help:
http://naturalhygienesociety.org/review/0501/start.html }

Study logic and reasoning. Learn what your communication blind spots are. These are only some of the basic ways you can straighten out your thinking, and thus make better decisions.