CARP Talk 18th November 2015 Report

The evening began with thesecond CARP Talk of the year hosted in Lancaster Gate by Samuel Read. The room was filled with joyful chatter as guests were welcomed into the event.

Samuel spoke eloquently on the topic of Purpose; what is the purpose of life? There was a sense of focus in the room as guests were attentively drawn in to Samuel’s words. Many people try to find purpose through their careers focusing on gaining material wealth or desiring great sums of money. However, they oftenfeelthat such a life doesn’t fully satisfy them. We may feel restricted because we feel like“just a small cog in the corporate system” for the purpose of generating money for a corporation. As a result people may find themselves lost, insignificant and misguided.

People also often can get distracted by social media such as by procrastinating, watching entertainment videos on YouTube where we may find it pleasurable to experience in the moment, but find ourselves afterwards bewildered asking‘why we waste our precious time on fleeting pleasures?’. Through this example, Samuel made the distinction between ‘short term’ happiness and ‘long term’ happiness. He encouraged us to think of what our identity and purpose is andthat goes beyond society’s labels; we are more than just “students” or “graduates” or whatever label society gives to us.

The purpose of our life is determined by what we believe our values are – so if we value money then then our purpose will lead us in that direction. But if we love other people then that will become our purpose. Samuel emphasized that we should structure our values on ‘long term’ happiness instead of ‘short term’ happiness – by living for the sake of others and by giving and receiving love.

Following the talk, the audience were given the opportunity to reflect on and share our own experiences about thetimes in our lives when we felt lack of purpose and questioned what we could do to break through this feeling. In groups we had the opportunity to practice our public speaking by presenting our reflections about the topic of ‘purpose’. Lastly, to conclude guests were nominated by their groups to share their stories with the whole audience. Beni Vitai gave the most captivating and inspiring story and was rewarded with a prize.

Everyone then shared in fellowship and food with each other.