The question of our life’s purpose starts early and innocently. It begins with a simple and harmless inquiry, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I have always envied those who knew the answer to that question. To have such direction so early on seems to eliminate a lot of stress and doubt. It is with questions like this, however, that we become conditioned to believe that our life’s purpose is directly tied to our work or that our purpose is singular and unchanging.
Growing up I thought most everyone had life figured out. Their path was paved neatly before them and they were well on their way to living out their purpose. For some this was true, I, however, seemed to be on a path that led nowhere and I had lost my roadmap. In the past, my jobs were chosen based on necessity and an innate skillset and while I was great at the things I did there was no passion there.
I had listened to a podcast where the guest was talking about her struggle with the question of life’s purpose. The lesson she had learned was that her purpose was not related to a job or even one particular thing, it was in fact very simple.
Cue in the revelation.
The purpose of life is love. Love for others, love for yourself, love for Spirit, love for the choices you make for your life. When you choose love, your life always has purpose.
With that one simple idea, my outlook on life changed. It was a breath of fresh air to have been given permission to stop searching for my reason for life and just to start living it. Yes, I can see how this idea sounds too straightforward and overly cliché, but it has proven truer than most other things I have learned so far in life.
When we attach purpose to things-a job, a person, a title, we start to believe that thing is the end all be all of life. If there is one solid lesson I have learned about life is that change is constant and growth is required.
What if one day we decide we don’t want the career we thought we wanted? That motherhood wasn’t the only goal? Does that mean we lost our chance of having a purposeful life?
A few months back I had a conversation with a friend who was feeling unfulfilled in her job and was lacking motivation for the things that once drove her. I told her that maybe that phase of her life, that thing that used to light a fire in her, was no longer meant to be. Naturally, she questioned me because she believed this was her soul’s purpose. In which I asked her,
“Do you truly believe our souls are made for only one thing?”
At one point in time, you loved something or someone and it gave your life meaning. You invested time, energy, and love, and you learned and grew from that experience. It wasn’t wasted, it wasn’t wrong-its time simply came to an end. You gained the insight and growth you needed; there’s nothing more for you there. At least not right now. Right now it’s time to move on to the next chapter, the next calling, the next thing that sets your soul ablaze. We must remember to stay true to ourselves, enjoying the experience for however long that purpose fulfills us. Bring love to everything you do and you can’t go wrong.
May 18, 2023
