What do you gain from enlightment

[ButterflyWoman]

I have concerns about fulfilling my purpose for being here when most don't seem to care about anything outside themselves. Why should I care about them if they don't?

Forgive me for asking this, but are you absolutely sure that your "purpose" has to do with making people who don't care about anything outside themselves care or wake up or whatever?

I used to think I should try to do that, but time has taught me that there's no need and no point. Best I can do is offer a little nod on the path of people who are already going some way I've already gone. If they're not going to go on the same path, however, there's no point me trying to drag them to it. Well, occasionally, I deliberately rattle cages and plant seeds, but I don't know what effect it will or won't have, other than occasionally really pissing people off. (There's nothing people hate more than having their reality challenged. NOTHING.)

And this is a personal thing, but I'm super dubious about this whole "purpose of life" thing. Why does there have to be a "purpose"? Why can't it just evolve and be whatever it is until it starts to be something else? Why does anything have to have a purpose? Goals, sure, I can understand setting those. Gives you something to do, if nothing else. But the whole idea that everything/everyone has some immutable, specific purpose for being alive.... I'm just not seeing that. Not any more, anyway. Mind you, that realisation was one which triggered some of the most intense existential crises I've ever had to experience....

[Osiris]

It seems to me the term "enlightenment" simply means at least to a minimum extent the falling away of the blinders that we start out with at our creation. Over the course of many lifetimes these blinders of individualization, or separateness from the whole start to crack and weaken, we start to see reflections of ourselves (that is if we've taken the time to explore ourselves) in other people and things. We start to realize that even though our thoughts, feelings and actions Appear to be isolated to ourselves they are infact, as are the thoughts, feelings and actions of others, part of a Whole. As we open ourselves to the new budding reality it starts to become clearer that the life we once led is very limited indeed in comparison to the one opening up ahead. By giving up more and more of yourself to this experience you in effect open the door for a ever widening opportunity for consciousness expansion. If however you Cling to the old comfortable "you" you remain confined in a hard shell unable to expand outward, almost like a child that wants to remain 6 years old to never mature and develop into an adult because he or she dosnt see the benefit, because growing up means change and change is painful, but a child only knows his world and from a child's perspective everything is great. But a more mature adolescent or young adult knows better and a senior knows even more. Once you allow your self a taste of outward expansion, even though there not always pleasant, it is pretty difficult to wish they hadnt happened, and as you see yourself as part of a greater whole you wish all the growth in the world for Others because they are part of You as well, even if they dont see it yet.
That realizaton is enlightenment, not total or complete now or perhaps ever but its a well spring from which we can draw energy for the growth of ourselves as a Part of the whole. I used to tell people thats why you have 2 hands...one to reach up to be helped up and the other to reach down to help the other up.

[arundios]

If nature gets in the way of putting in a new school they just plow it under or dig it up. If there is an existing eco system there, they just get together and tell themselves it will be fine, the animals will just move some place else. Have to destroy wood land, it is ok, just plant some new trees and put down new grass it will be ok. It really is Human's first.. or. ME first and screw everyone else.