Fascination and intrigue drive our quest for life’s meaning and purpose
When one embarks on the quest for life’s meaning and personal purpose, there is a delicate, often maddeningly beautiful, interplay between fascination and intrigue. These twin forces—fascination, a seductive pull toward the unknown, and intrigue, a restless curiosity that demands deeper understanding—fuel our search for something greater. They coexist, push, and pull at each other, keeping us in an endless dance as we pursue the most fundamental question: Why am I here?
“The problematic situations in your life are not chance or haphazard. They are specifically yours, designed specifically for you by a part of you that loves you more than anything else.”
Diamond Heart Book One, pg. 140.
The Allure of the Unknown
Fascination is the heart of this search, the first beckoning toward something beyond the mundane. Fascination makes us pause, wonder at the stars, or feel the uncanny pull toward ancient wisdom and spiritual teachings. It draws us to the possibility that there’s more to life than what we see—a thread of mystery waiting to be unraveled.
Fascination is the spark that ignites the question, What if? It fuels our innate desire to understand existence beyond the practicalities of day-to-day life. The vast and incomprehensible universe presents itself as an alluring mystery, inviting us to venture into the depths of philosophical and spiritual inquiry. Whether studying ancient texts like the Tao Te Ching or contemplating modern ideas of consciousness, fascination opens the door to the metaphysical.
“Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are.”
Kurt Cobain
Yet fascination, like a magnetic force, is intoxicating. It lures us into the unknown, where answers often feel just out of reach, propelling us forward into the dance without offering concrete resolutions. The further we explore, the more mysterious life seems, and the allure only deepens.
The Hunger for Understanding
If fascination is the seduction of the unknown, intrigue is its driving force. The hunger keeps us asking, What does it all mean? Intrigue pushes us beyond passive admiration into active engagement, demanding that we peel back the layers of our existence to reveal a truth that may be hidden in plain sight. Intrigue is what makes us wrestle with existential questions, forcing us to confront the uncomfortable ambiguity of life.
Many spiritual traditions, from the Diamond Approach® to Zen Buddhism, emphasize the importance of staying with this sense of intrigue, of living in the questions rather than rushing to find answers. In this space, deeper revelations about life and purpose tend to emerge when we sit with the paradoxes and contradictions that intrigue presents.
“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.”
Shunryu Suzuki
Intrigue leads us to seek out experiences and wisdom that could illuminate our understanding of ourselves. Whether through meditation, personal challenges, or simply observing the human condition, the desire to uncover our purpose is relentless. It urges us to dig beneath the surface of conventional success to recognize that our true calling may not align with societal expectations but rather with our innermost selves.
The Dance of Questioning
Together, fascination and intrigue form the rhythm of the existential dance. Fascination offers us the beauty of the unknown, while intrigue drives us to explore it more deeply. And yet, the dance is never quite complete. As soon as we grasp one answer, the mystery deepens, and the cycle continues.
“The aim of inquiry is not to arrive at conclusions but to enjoy the exploration and the thrill of discovery.”
Spacecruiser Inquiry, pg. 19
The search for the meaning of life is not a quest with a definitive endpoint. Instead, it’s an evolving journey where our purpose may shift as we move through different stages of life. In a sense, purpose is not something found but something created—an ongoing process of aligning our actions with our values, desires, and curiosity.
Through the lens of fascination and intrigue, we begin to see that perhaps the purpose of life is not to solve the mystery but to live it—to stay engaged in the dance, aware of the pull between seeking and not knowing, and to find peace within that dynamic tension. By embracing this, we allow ourselves to live fully in the moment, continuously drawing meaning from each step, each question, and each discovery, no matter how incomplete.
A Call for Reflection
The dance between fascination and intrigue invites us to approach life with curiosity rather than fear and to see our purpose as an evolving narrative. The question, “Who am I?” might never be fully answered, but it is in the asking that the real beauty lies. And so, we keep dancing.
In the Diamond Approach, self-discovery is seen as an ever-evolving process where understanding deepens through inquiry. Inquiry, as described, is not about finding definitive answers but about engaging with one’s experience to uncover layers of meaning. This process leads to a dynamic understanding, where new insights continually emerge. In this context, purpose is also fluid, shifting as we grow and align our actions with our evolving self. Life’s meaning is, therefore, not a fixed point but something created and revealed through active, curious engagement with life’s mysteries.