Why do we do stuff?

Why do we do the things we do?

This is a question that has been marinading in me for weeks, months, years. It goes alongside questions such as, what should I do with the limited time I have? What is the most skilful way of meeting my goals? What ARE my goals?

Of course, I know that in reality there are a whole jumble of motivations getting me up in the morning and driving me forwards. Most of these are self-seeking in some way. Ooh, I can have those juicy raspberries with my breakfast. Ooh, I can write a blog so people can appreciate my brilliance. Ooh, if I’m nice to that person then I can prove to myself and to others that I am a very kind person indeed.

These motivations aren’t necessarily bad, especially if they result in me doing good stuff. But they are all ultimately doomed to fail as Trying To Make Me Happy. The taste of raspberries is luscious, of course. And it soon passes. People sometimes do appreciate my writing, and then they move on before I’ve had ‘enough’ affirmation. I eventually see that sometimes I am a very kind person and often I am not.

I’m currently in conversation with Brother Lawrence, who lived in the 17th Century. He told me: “Our sanctification did not depend upon changing our works. Instead, it depended on doing that for God’s sake which we commonly do for our own”. He also said, with particular…