Jean Paul Sartre believed that “existence precedes essence.” The physical body or the existence of the individual preceded the essence, or the purpose, true nature of the individual. Sartre was a strong believer in taking full responsibility of one’s life and that each individual was essentially the author and creator of their “own life project” or, that the actions of the individual leads to essence.

Religion offers the converse, that there is essence that precedes existence, whether that’s a soul or that a concept of your creation had to have existed prior to your creation. In Islam, while there are various interpretations on the topic, there are some that speak to the transcendental existence of the soul and its relationship with God (its Creator) prior to:

"breathed into him Al-Ruh." [Quran, 32:9]

Might be a little difficult to keep track of who you are and what you’re for at any given moment. #AgeOf(Mis)Information

Even in scripture throughout the Quran, knowledge is not attained or provided, but remembered by the individual; there is a presumption that the transcendental soul already knows what its true nature is and that worldly experiences help the self to remember the truth, as defined by God, i.e. the Creator. It also presupposes that truth is good and ordained to bring you closer to God, or the principles defined as divine by God [See upcoming 99 Qualities of God post for more information/clarity].

Regardless of your belief of whether existence or essence came first, the fact remains that one’s actions and experiences will ultimately lead to outcomes towards one’s vision or definition of success, i.e. money, fame, etc. In a non-religious context, your actions are contributing to whatever your goals may be or the values you wish to espouse in the world. In a religious context, your experiences will help one “remember” truth and to a path that could bring greater closeness with God. Both, as Sartre would (potentially) argue, are contributions to your own life project.

Something else that Sartre (potentially) would agree with is that taking action is paramount in either instance; taking action and creating experiences is akin to taking full responsibility of your future. In either example – religious or non-religious – the definition of taking action and the creation of experience has changed with the advent of technology. So much so, person-to-person interaction - or even getting off your couch - may not be even necessary to achieve action and build experience(s), i.e. social media, internet, etc.

Further, with this advance of technology, big data has become a thing. Marketing and algorithms that predict behavior are becoming more and more remarkably accurate to guide individuals into targeted commerce. In a world of everything, the algorithm will just lead you buy things that happen to be on your path of your life project… right? Or is it the other way around?

Hence, I make my claim that for all of us to NOT become mindless consumers, the future must be existential. If we can make claim to hold certain existential beliefs and create a vision that can keep us on a path that is aligned with self, rather than easily sidetracked by consumerism, we can further and champion the development of self. Its much better than the converse - producers swaying our impulses (which they may know us better that we do with big data) and potentially taking us off track of whatever could be enriching the self.

What products have become your vices?

Do those products align with the way you want to live your life?

What products negatively impact the vision of what you want to be?

What do you want to be and how do your consumer choices contribute toward that existential vision?

How much do you think about the responsibility of your consumer choices?

How do you want to exist?

How do you control and take responsibility of your existence?

Illuminating Awareness. Facilitating Choice.