purpose and meaning

If each life separate is part of a greater whole that is life then we are never really alone. If the things we do, though perhaps seemingly meaningless, have an affect on others then your life therefore has purpose, the purpose of making a difference, a change. Whether positive or negative our actions and/or the reaction to whatever comes our way twists and turns life, ours or others, in different directions. No matter the path we seem to tread during our time on earth, it seems to me that we are all in the same story, with the same grand finale to complete the story of human life. If we are all connected in this way, though seemingly separate and disconnected, wouldn't it make sense to assume that just as the story of life began with one beginning, it would end with one ending? Each life has a starting point and a stopping point. With the connection of each of us to the other, even in an indirect manner, the grand whole of all of our lives combined also have one place of origin and one place of completion.
So often I wish my life had some great meaning that would have a positive impact on the lives that come in contact with or that follow my own. When I contemplate life and all the ways we impact others, suddenly meaning is shown in a whole new light. It's not that we did or didn't do this or that, it is as though what we have chosen does in fact make a difference and helps in connecting with the whole of the larger story. If only we could look from an outside perspective, see the stories and be able to grasp that of humanity and the individuals therein, I think we'd have a much greater understanding of the creation of God, and the story of humanity that began and will be complete according to how God has planned for his honor and praise.
In college I had a professor that once described life as all of humanity being on a on a giant ship such as the Titanic. We can do whatever we want on the ship, but no matter what our choice while there, the ship's destination remains the same and is going towards a designation previously ordained. We are all connected in a story with the same beginning and the same ending point, and although we can chose to do whatever we want with our lives, we are all a part of something greater and therefore have purpose and meaning.