What motivates a Humanist

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In the grand scheme of things, our lives are really tiny. I mean, think about it. We are only alive for a few decades in a universe that is over 13 billion years old.  As Mark Twain once said (or is reported to have said): “I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.” 

The question is, given our relative insignificance, what should we do with our lives. We humans certainly seem to want to have a purpose.  As a Humanist, I am aware, there is no grand purpose to my life. My life is what I make of it.

And no, that isn't depressing. It's liberating. Most Humanists look at this reality and think two things.  

1. I may as well make the most of it while I am here. In other words, I might as well be happy, and
2. As long as I'm trying to make my life better, I may as well try to make other people's lives better as well.

And this, in a nutshell is what motivates us.  In some ways, it's rather mundane. In other ways, it's astounding. The purpose of life is to life it fully and try to do some good while we are here.  Sure beats the alternative.