When your purpose is clear, no hardship can unmoor you. The weight of suffering bends those who wander without meaning, but for the one who understands the why of their existence, every how—no matter how bitter, uncertain, or cruel—becomes endurable. Purpose is not merely a reason to live; it is the anchor that steadies you when the tempests of life rage. Without it, you are adrift. With it, you are indomitable.
RM Sydnor
(Inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche)
The Weight of Purpose
Suffering, by itself, is a brute force—indiscriminate, unfeeling, and at times, seemingly unjust. It makes no distinction between the righteous and the wayward, the wise and the foolish. But suffering without purpose? That is a crushing void. When hardship arrives, as it always does, the difference between resilience and ruin is not found in circumstances but in meaning.
You may have endured moments where despair felt suffocating, where every effort seemed swallowed by an indifferent universe. What carried you forward in those moments? If you had something—someone—a purpose that tethered you to life, you found the strength to bear the unbearable. But if you lacked that anchor, if your existence was unmoored from meaning, then every burden became a weight too great to carry.
It is not suffering itself that breaks a person. It is suffering without a why.
Adrift or Anchored?
Consider the great figures of history—those who endured exile, imprisonment, betrayal, and pain—yet emerged unbroken. They were not spared suffering. What made them indomitable was their unshakable commitment to something greater than themselves.
Socrates, condemned to death, did not plead for his life because he saw his purpose as truth itself, something far weightier than mere survival. Viktor Frankl, who survived the horrors of Auschwitz, wrote that those who held onto a reason to live—love, faith, the dream of rebuilding—could endure suffering that would otherwise be unbearable. Even in literature, Odysseus, after years of torment and wandering, persevered not for glory, but for the home and family that defined his purpose.
Yet, we must acknowledge—can one endure suffering without a grand why? Some do. Some live moment by moment, improvising meaning as they go, surviving through sheer force of will rather than conviction. Not all purpose is cosmic. Some find meaning in the simplest of acts—caring for a child, creating something beautiful, helping a stranger. Even without grand declarations, the smallest spark of meaning is still enough to light the darkness.
And now the question falls to you: Are you adrift, or are you anchored?
If you find yourself faltering, exhausted by the weight of life’s burdens, do not mistake fatigue for finality. You are not powerless. But power does not come from wishful thinking—it comes from knowing what you are living for. If you cannot answer that question, then it is not hardship that threatens you most; it is meaninglessness.
Summons to Purpose
This is not a gentle reflection—it is a challenge. It is not merely an idea to admire but a command to wrestle with.
If you are lost, what will you hold onto? If you are suffering, what makes the suffering worth it? If you have not yet found your why, then let this be your summons: Seek it. Forge it. Commit to it. Do not let yourself drift in the tide of the purposeless.
You do not need to have all the answers today. You only need to take a step. Even the smallest purpose—caring for another, creating, seeking truth—can steady you. The journey toward meaning is not about arriving at perfection; it is about refusing to surrender to the void.
The storms of life will come. The only question is whether you will stand anchored in meaning—or be swept away.
The choice is yours.
RMS INSIGHTS ✍🏾 