From a biological standpoint, the ultimate purpose of life is to sustain life. We were placed on Planet Earth for the specific purpose of sustaining life. Depending on how we look at this fundamental axiom, it could be quite depressing or most exhilarating.

If we take the stance that we were placed on Planet Earth uniquely to survive and reproduce, we are left with the very limiting belief of the Neanderthal era. We now know that what the term "sustaining life" means is much more than that.

Above all, sustaining life means constant growth. There is no status quo in nature. There is either growth and survival or decay and death. It's a fundamental law that cannot be escaped. Either we expand and grow, which is the real reason why we were place on this little Planet, or we wither and perish.

The kind of growth that we are talking about here has little to do with the physical plane. Human growth is seen above all in the intellectual, emotional and spiritual worlds... where it matters the most.

As we grow as individual in these worlds of the mind, so does mankind as a whole and that's the ultimate purpose of man. The fate of the mass depends on the efforts of the individual; it depends on each and every one of us. That is the ultimate reason we were placed on this little Planet - to fulfill is man's noblest goal, which is the advancement of mankind.

Seen in this light, our life takes on an entirely different meaning. We were entitled at birth with the noblest cause, that of contributing to the advancement of humanity. We are not mere mortals striving to survive but creators of what the future of man will hold.

At first, this may be seen as an exaggeration; that's a natural reflex of protection. The cover of anonymity is much safer than owning responsibilities. Taking the stance that we only have an obscure if not meaningless role to play in the affairs of man may be more comfortable but it's also negating reality.

If it's not our personal mission to advance humanity than whose mission is it? Each and every one of us bares that responsibility. A responsibility that pays great dividend, not the least of which is the privilege of knowing that we are important and that we matter.

There is no such thing as a meaningless individual; there are only people who see themselves as such. Each and every one of us was born with special talents and special abilities. It is our individual duty to find out what they are and how we can best used them to grow as individual and contribute to the collective advancement of mankind.

The way that we see ourselves is determinant in our level of self-esteem and self-appreciation. We can choose to see ourselves as a meaningless grain of sand lost in the desert or as contributing force in the affairs of man. We can chose the safety of anonymity or the pro-active role that we were designed to play. It's our choice and we get to bare the consequences of that choice.

At birth we were endowed with special gifts and special talents. We were also entitled with a special mission. That mission is the quest for personal growth and self-actualization, which is just another way of saying that we were born to sustain life by contributing to its development and overall growth.

Life is a gift and with that gift comes the responsibility of striving to become all that we can be. We have the choice of accepting that challenge and enjoy the gift of life to its fullest or we can close our eyes and miss the one and only chance that we were given.