Existential Difference Among Humans
Human life has two interconnected layers: This world — the arena of action The Hereafter — the arena of consequence This world is not a distraction from the ultimate purpose; it is the mechanism through which the ultimate purpose is fulfilled. For that mechanism to work, certain systems must dominate: survival, stability, relationships, safety. These are urgent, limbic-driven, and biologically non-negotiable. Without them, we couldn’t even survive long enough to make meaningful moral choices. The existential longing you’re talking about — the deep craving for eternal meaning — is not part of that urgent infrastructure. It is a reflective capacity. And reflective states, by design, fluctuate. They rise in stillness, crisis, loss, or quiet moments. They are not meant to scream 24/7. If that longing were as constant and intense as hunger or fear, two things would break: Functional life would collapse. The brain suppresses deep reflection under survival stress for a reason — we are not built to contemplate eternity while running from a lion. Moral choice would cease to be choice. Constant, overwhelming awareness of eternal consequence would turn obedience into terror, not voluntary surrender. The test would disappear. That is why the intensity varies so much from person to person. It is not a flaw in the design. It is the design. The purpose is not permanent psychological intensity. The purpose is transformation — the gradual reorientation of the heart through choices made in the midst of ordinary life. So how do we distinguish this from “just a variable psychological or cultural inclination”? Because the capacity itself is universal (every human being, in the right conditions, can feel it), but its activation is left to freedom. That very variability is what makes the test real. If the longing were biologically overwhelming, there would be no genuine orientation — only compulsion. The fact that it must be chosen is precisely what proves it is built into our purpose, not merely layered on by culture. The Hereafter is ultimate in consequence, but this world is primary in operation. That is why the longing is accessible, but never allowed to hijack the system. It’s like driving: the destination is the ultimate purpose of the journey, but your primary focus has to be the road, the mirrors, the brakes. Stare only at the map and you crash. Never look at the map and you’re lost. Both are necessary. One is not meant to dominate the other.