Picture: Mother–A shining Light of Purpose
Knowing your purpose in life is a remarkably important thing to realize, and to fulfill—for purpose is closely tied to life itself. Every soul has taken incarnation with purpose—its intension for ways to live, grow and learn. If any one of us becomes divorced from our purpose then it induces a crises—it may be a full-scale life threatening crises, or a simmering undertow that is a drag on your energies and sense of fulfillment.
Purpose does not necessarily mean something lofty or otherworldly, for many coming into this life, purpose is very down to earth. I had friends in high school who knew exactly what they wanted to do in life: to be a welder, a truckdriver, get married and raise a family, a physical therapist, a lawyer, a friend who traded stock on paper because he had no money to invest at the time, a doctor etc. Then there were other kids who were much more general in thinking: go to college and figure out their purpose, go to work for one of the better paying companies nearby, and some who took jobs after high school at what they could get. And some kids were stumbling down into dark places of alcohol and drugs, with little direction other than to get high.
It seemed everyone had some kind of purpose they were pursuing—except perhaps for me, and I was in crises. Since I seemed to be alone in the crises I kept it to myself and continued to do some of the things the world expected of me; work and college. My father had dreamed of going into the business that my grandfather had started, and he did—he was one with a strong sense of purpose in life from the start. For me, it is strange to say, the world did not seem to offer what I needed. But, I lived in this world and the world has its demands for survival, and there was no other vision or world in my sights at the time.
In hindsight I can see that I was drawn by a guiding intelligence which gradually revealed my purpose. At first it was an inarticulate knowing, and through sporadic experiences it started to form into something more focused. My Guru drew me to herself and she gave me the template for a blazing purpose, much of which was far beyond my grasp at the time—she was both a distant guiding star and she lit the ground in front of me to take learning-steps into a new world.
My purpose was not more important than my friend who was to become a welder, or my father who grew a business, or anyone else who was in step with their true purpose in life. What is important, even essential, is that each person is in step with his or her own purpose, and that this purpose is life affirming and growth producing. There are those whose choices lead to dark places that are neither life affirming or growth producing—these become lost souls that may wonder in self-produced kinds of hells, moving from one painful existence to another until that pain induces them to reconsider their choices and move toward the light of positive purpose inherent in all souls. Ultimately every individual is led to the Light of his or her own soul—as Elizabeth Haich said, “Eternity is long enough!”
Others may live lives pulled along by the current of the world, doing what others do until they come to a point where they realize they have lived their lives according to the expectations of others and do not really know their true purpose. For some, purpose changes in life, and what had been a clear purpose earlier now no longer fits. This change can require painful adjustments at the time to keep in synch with the soul’s purpose.
Happy is the person who is in harmony with his or her soul’s purpose. Knowing and living out that purpose does not mean there are no challenges, quite often it is just the opposite. A clear purpose may intentionally put you into situations that stretch you to the utmost, but you are exactly where you are meant to be. Nor does it mean that from a worldly standpoint you are an outstanding success. Krishna told Arjuna to engage in the battle, and even if he is killed on the field he is a spiritual success because he is doing what he had come to do. Sometimes, to be in harmony with purpose collides with what others think you should be doing, and that collision may result in disappointment, hurt and anger. This cannot be helped when you are obeying your true purpose. You may trust that when it comes to fulfilling your true purpose, it will ultimately be for everyone’s highest good.
To know and follow your true purpose is the greatest adventure, for the soul’s ultimate purpose leads you to your spiritual Home, God-realization. For those who are awakened to this spiritual purpose there is no reason to stand in judgement of those who are seeking to fulfill more earthly goals, as long as that is their true purpose—you can take joy in seeing that a soul is seeking out what is truly theirs to do. Just as you can affirm that, even when your soul’s purpose takes you out of the common ways of this world, you are exactly where you need to be and you may rightfully feel joy in knowing that you are fulfilling your true purpose.