Do We Have a Purpose?

“Purpose is the place where your deep gladness meets the world’s needs.” Frederick Buechner
Do We Have a Purpose?
The last Sunday in April, fifteen of us sat in a circle as we have every last Sunday of the month for the past year, addressing philosophical questions of interest. This month’s topic was, does life have a purpose? Because most of us at the gathering see ourselves as spiritual beings living in human bodies, we noted that if there was a purpose, it was beyond the human mind to know what it would be. It seemed to be more or less a general consensus that Life had purpose and that that life force flows through each of us expressing that purpose.
Do we have a purpose is a question many of us ask ourselves when we are at a crossroad or frustrated with our present life situation. Because we’ve grown up in a culture where that honors tangible results, we tend to define our purpose by what we “do” in life. We define ourselves by the careers or hobbies and talents at which we excel. We say we are teachers, athletes, business professionals, mothers, fathers, etc. We identify with the roles we take on and they are what often give us our sense of purpose. When we no longer have a defined role, we lose this particular sense of identity and that sense of purpose right along with it. We see this in parents when they face the “empty nest” syndrome and men and woman who retire after giving their life to their work or suddenly get laid off.  Many then go in search for something else to do that will give them purpose.
We call ourselves human ‘beings’ and yet identify our success, our purpose with what we do. Could it be that our true purpose has more to do with who we are and how that shows up in what we do?
As babies, we were acknowledged for every gurgle, every smile and every sound we made. As we grew and throughout our school years, we got approval for what showed up as good at reading, good at piano, good at achieving something parents and teachers could see and be proud of. Our outer purpose became primary and our inner purpose or state of being was secondary.  We were entrained to believe that what we do is more valuable than who we are. Thus, our purpose in life became focused on what we accomplished.
Society as a whole tends to deem one successful if they have mastered the world monetarily or have become famous.  There are statistics for the richest people, Fortune 500 and above ranked companies, those who have broken records in the realm of physical adeptness or reached some visible fame.
What would it take to change our perspective and focus more on the success achieved through that which fosters peace, love and good on the planet? True, we acknowledge famous people who do good deeds with their wealth, but the scales are still off balance.
In Eckhart Tolle’s newest book, A New Earth, Awakening to You Life’s Purpose, he say’s, “There is no substitute for finding true purpose. But the true or primary purpose of your life cannot be found on the outer level. It does not concern what you do but what you are—that is to say, your state of consciousness.  So the important thing is this: Your life has an inner purpose and an outer purpose. Inner purpose concerns Being and is primary. Outer purpose concerns Doing and is secondary. “
Today, more prominent people are speaking up for the state of our consciousness and we are beginning to experience an opportune shift. As we open our hearts and minds to be aware and awake human beings, our natural direction can’t help but unveil the organic goodness and awaken us to our True Purpose. We may not know what that is, but most of us can or are learning to feel when we are on target.
In Dawna Markova’s book, I Will Not Live an Unlived Life, Reclaiming Purpose and Passion, she says, “Each of us is a miracle of uniqueness. Each of us, therefore, is responsible for the discovery of our sustaining passions . . . to the full fertility of our soul and all it has to give to the world.”
Feel free to email Jasmyne with any questions or comments.
Jasmyne Boswell is a Life Coach, Writing Coach/editor and Marketing Consultant. For over 28 years she has been a mid-wife to professionals in all fields, helping them successfully overcome personal stumbling blocks and birth their businesses, practices, and projects. She uses her creative gift with the written word to help bring your ideas into form. Jasmyne can be reached at 808-268-5807 or by visiting www.jasmyneconsulting.com.