Maybe there isn't ''one'' purpose for our lives, but multiple purposes, that we discover throughout our lifetime. I can't imagine what one, sole purpose would be if there was to be just one.
Those are rather silly dichotomies. You might as well ask what is health without disease. (A damn good thing.)
There is some truth in it, Bob. I never knew how important a healthy back is until I hurt my back. The most simple things became impossible after I injured my back.
You were happy with a healthy back, weren't you? Many of us never have back problems; are you saying we don't enjoy it? You might as well say we need to have cancer before we can appreciate not having cancer.
You already said that. Is it true though? How is "truly appreciating" a healthy back different from just taking it for granted?
You just keep repeating the same thing over and over again. That's an example, not an explanation. Do you have to have cancer to appreciate not having cancer? Do you have to jab yourself in the eye with a fork to appreciate not being jabbed in the eye with a fork?
Absolutely not, but if you believe you will escape pain in this life... It is what it is, Bob. There is no up without down, as you should know.
Up and down are just directions, relative to where you are and how you are oriented. Pleasure and pain are similar. You can go toward more pleasure or toward more pain but you can't say that one position is pleasant and one is unpleasant. If you go up, the directions remain relative. You can still go up or down; you can never be "at" up or down. You can't say that you didn't appreciate up until you were down.
The purpose of life . Ask the gods . What matters to the gods ? Past the gods , the purpose of life matters not . What matters is the purpose of Humanity . We exist . How long we exist is what matters .
Something . Something has three dimensional physical qualities ; length , breadth and depth . My definition of existence .