Purpose

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Purpose: Dash Of My Life

At age 30, I became tired of searching for meaning and self.  For primarily self-indulgent reasons, I could just not stay focussed on spiritual and personal goals that I had established for myself. 

I had all my life tried to find the meaning through reading books, religious practices, and philosophy but to no avail. Meaning was always elusive, and I went on to devour more books, religious practices and philosophy. At some point, my mind completely tuned out every time I tried to feed it another new practice. Then, I realized I wasn’t being honest to myself.  I did not curse the journey. I guess it had been worth it. While we always seek the destination, there’s always more to see along the way.

I finally discovered that I was trying to search for light while I was holding the lamp in my hands. The meaning of life that I was looking for was located right in my heart.

The meaning and purpose of my life resided within me quietly like an ancient tomb. The quest for meaning had taken me to faraway lands that I forgot to look where it mattered most — inside my heart. 

It is inside our hearts where the hidden treasures of purpose lie unexplored. If we could only look deeper, we could see what our lives are created for. 

So, after a long search, I found my purpose in weaving words that find a place in people’s hearts. I made a decision to write as beautifully as a butterfly flutters its wings on a summer morn.

It was something I had always known but chose to ignore in pursuit of grand schemes. Purpose is always simple and straightforward. It is never an arm’s length away from your heart. It just needs to be nudged, and embraced, and then it will grow its own roots. 

I discovered my purpose is to tell stories without fear or favor. In my life, purpose is that little dash that will separate the year of my birth from the year of my death when I finally pass on.  

It is the dash that will represent all that I ever did during my time on Earth. It is up to me to make the best use of that little line. In my living days, it appears that the little line is eternal, and that it can be spent in pursuit of self-satisfying endeavors.

But increasingly, it is becoming clear to me that life is greater than chasing mere self-ambition or self-indulgence. I now have the decency to realize that my days on earth are as ephemeral as a shooting star, and can be spent more meaningfully in making a difference in people’s lives.  

At the expiration of my life, what will matter most is what I contributed to the enrichment of my world, all in that dash.

My true purpose is always predicated by a desire to expand the state of humanity. Discovering my purpose has been integral to how I choose to sculpt myself.

Without purpose, I am like a twig floating aimlessly in the torrents of life.  Without it, I am caught up in the ever-coiling spiral of despair and desire, which inevitably leads to suffering.

My energies are dissipated and I am constantly distracted. Finding my reason of being has certainly not been a pie-in-the-sky experience. I have had to go through several trial and errors.

Overall, it has been a desert-like experience, falling down a 100 times to get up 101, in search of my light. It’s been worth it. 

In a word, purpose now gives shape to my days. It tells me in the invisible realm where to concentrate my energies, thereby maximizing the potential and outreach of my dash.

Purpose is the internal compass that guides me towards the pathway of my predetermined goal of serving humanity through my unique ability to tell stories.

It is not like manna that falls out of the heavens. I found it and nurtured it like a mustard seed. 

To live a life on purpose is to live by design. It is to know what matters most in the moment rather than getting tossed about by the winds of time.

Purpose is that invisible spark that spurs me to go on in spite of the odds. It fills my bones with a passion that reverberates beyond the spoken word.

Most importantly, it is more spiritual than simply fulfilling my goals. 

My purpose is a mission: a calling.

I will strive to live up to its ideal throughout the rest of my earthly existence.

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8 Nuggets to Simple Living

Like many people, you probably run through your life bogged down by a heavy load of worries about finances, traffic jams, your career, how you look, and what people think of you etc.  

Thoughts rummage through your head like the mad rush of a river on a stormy day, all needing attention which reduces you to a monkey-state. In reality, as much as you worry about giving shape to your life, you need to realize that you actually have very little control. 

The unending spiral of thoughts and desires to control your existence only leads to suffering, distress and despair. Rather than becoming a victim of the intransient and ephemeral, there is a way to enjoy your life at the cost of nothing.  

What more, when you choose to enjoy your life in its presence form, you become who you really are and will find yourself attracting better things towards your being.  

Have a sense of purpose. In the wheel of existence, self indulgence is perhaps the surest way to personal suffering. To avoid such a scenario, you need to develop a sense of purpose that gives meaning to your life, especially during periods of hopelessness.

Without purpose, life will twirl you around like a chip in the wind. You must have a sense of purpose far removed from the distracting daily reality of daily living. Recognize: having a multiplicity of pursuits can results in both confusion and mediocrity.  

Develop a passion. Develop a passion that will follow you to your grave. Find a life goal that is all important and will help to give you a soul-powered fire in your life.

Passion will harness your inherent powers but it needs to be subjected to an over-bearing sense of purpose. Indeed, passion will unleash your greatness. 

Feed the soul dimension. In the mad rush of life, there’s tendency to focus on the tangible only. However, there’s more to you than the physical.

You must devote special time to nourish the dimension of your soul through prayer, meditation or simply silence. 

Laugh at yourself and life. Having a good sense of humour is necessary to beat stress and frustration. It is the key to keep you connected to the vast expansiveness of the gift of life.

Humour allows you to sail smoothly through the rough spots of life. So go ahead, laugh at life, and laugh at yourself.  

Develop a sense of gratitude. There are a lot of things to appreciate in the bigger picture of life, if you are seriously blind to it, just be thankful for the fact that you are alive.

Gratitude, appreciation, or thankfulness builds positive emotions within your being.

And many times what we need to be thankful are the small things in life: a blooming flower, a beautiful sun set, etc. It is an acknowledgement that life is greater than the singular self-encased entity that makes you. 

Don’t try to please everybody. Not everybody will love you: it’s just a fact of life. So just accept it, and learn to be content with that reality. Trying to please everybody will make you inauthentic, increasing despair in your life.  

Do something good for nothing. When you commit yourself to the needs of others, you get out of the limited boundaries of self. Not only do you help to bring joy to other people’s lives, you will also light up the spark that will bring greater contentment to your being. 

Don’t get trapped in the pursuit of success. There is nothing as fickle as the pursuit of the myth of success. Many people have spend their lives searching for worldly success only to be despondent when they have achieved so-called success.

They find themselves empty and isolated, without friends, family or love.  So whatever your view of success, always make sure to maintain a balance in your life by taking care of the other aspects of your being.