The purpose of any single life is life itself.

There are two primary forces which cause everything to exist. And two primary types of material that exist. And the type of force that comes into play is a direct result of the type of material something is composed of. And/or visa versa. And both types of material exert their opposite forces on one another.

We have the organic and the inorganic. And we have the organization of material and the disintegration of material.

At the very simplest levels all the material is comprised of the same basic material, but as things are organized into more complicated types of material, we get the organic and the inorganic.

Now I am oversimplifying this, but I am really quite uneducated and lucky that you intend to tell it to a nine year old. Of course, even a nine year old may be too smart for me!

So the general rule is that matter, inorganic or organic tend to decay. The complex constantly breaks down, disintegrates, falls apart. yet life does just the opposite. The life force takes the mater and organizes it into more complex forms. Or course this is then acted upon by the force which causes it to decay. It is the ebb and flow of all existence. One force acting upon the other. It is really quite amazing when you stop to think about it. But without these two forces acting together, things just would not continue to exist.

Now there are lots of interesting angles and side notes to all this. For instance, even if a life-form, particularly a human, becomes destructive and ends up causing fellow humans to die, i.e. fall apart and decay, the reaction of fellow humans will be to try and create more elaborate systems to protect and further prolong life. The decay forces usually cause life to invent new, more complex systems. Life also constantly takes advantage of the decay to further it's own means, which is the furthering of life itself.

And to me, the whole life force, the whole life organizing things into more complex things is what I would consider intelligence itself. And that any organization of matter, to me, should be called life. Of course, this is just my opinion. But we humans have this extra added dimension that on top of the life force we also have consciousness. I mean our bodies grow and our cells divide regardless of the level of consciousness involved. The life force operates almost on it's own. We don't grow our hair or beat our hearts, do we? Well not by conscious control. Yet there is also this consciousness which has the potential to multiply the life force or the destructive force. We actually have this gift of having some level of say in the whole matter. Pretty amazing, isn't it? Sure, we don't have the ultimate power over it all, I don't think, but an incredible power none the less. And regardless of what we decide to do with it, we most likely, as I have stated above, cause to further the life force. Wether by our own direct action, or by our influence on the actions of others. So even a step in the wrong direction, a step toward destruction will result, most likely in a step in the other direction. There are no guaranties, but just think of the potential, amazing potential, that exist in our possession.

Feel free to add the religious spin to this explanation, they all can work here.

When my kids would ask such questions I would tell them the answer lies within themselves. Their job is to carry all the love that is in them out into the world. There reason for living is to do just that and the way they choose to do that is the living part. Everyday is new, fresh and clean. Do the best you can today and then leave it behind.

i would probably say so many people wonder about this question and cannot answer it themselve, the meaning of life could have many meaning for many people. so life is what you make of it.

Thanks so much for all your great answers-Schmanek I will have to simplify it a little bit and bring it down to her level. I don't really have a religious spin to put to it. I consider myself spiritual and not religious. Katmac-that was beautiful about carrying the love out into the world and firespinner I have often questioned the reasons myself and I told her my reason for being was her. I then told her that maybe she will invent something that would make the world a better place. The questions about "where do we come from" was fun too! I said lets get a book about it!

That is a good answer Vivisection!

Browneyes - yes, I tend to complicate things, lol! Glad you are finding help from some really good answers.

Schmanek-you just have to get in touch with your inner child. It is probably lateral of your feminine, (wink, wink)

Well I sometimes think I am already an outer child which is in touch with his inner adult which has a dominating feminine side which has a little head which is controlled too much by it's bigger head.......

LOL! Schmanek, that was so funny!