We’re talking about Purpose
May 4, 2010 by Káren Wallace
Filed under The Space
Do you find the question “What’s your purpose in life?” a bit confronting?
I don’t know anyone who actually asks that question in general conversation, but have seen it plenty of times in books and on blogs. And I never fail to feel a little out of my depth. In fact, it scares the pants off me.
Even if I do have a good feel for what I’m doing with my life, the image of this over-riding, immense thing called ‘purpose’ hanging in front of me like a rainbow (always just out of reach) can throw me completely in a tizz.
So, this month we’re going to bring that rainbow down to earth a little and start making that illusive ‘purpose‘ a little more tangible, and hopefully a lot less frightening.
Join Us?
We’d like to wish every Mother, or mother-figure, a beautiful Mother’s Day … and may you feel special the whole year through!
This week:
At Feng Shui Space – we welcome Linda Binns as a regular contributor with her own space, with How Your Home can Help You Discover Your Purpose
At Memoir Space – Bo encourages and inspires us with Why Write Memoir? – There is Purpose in Your Words
At Design Space - Vitania once again combines pictures of beautiful interiors (I want that bed!) with her unique wisdom with For the Love of Hard Work
At Spa Space – I continue our new series on How to Calm Yourself when the Going Gets Tough #2: Defer Your Worries
At Guest Space – Stacey Curnow once again shares her journey to doing the work her heart calls her to do with On Purpose
Week 2:
At Living Space - Anne enthralls and challenges us with Shaking Off the Zombie
At Spiritual Space – Annie makes us consider the purpose of our lives in a spiritual context in Spiritual Purpose
At Kitchen Table Space – Janice beautifully encourages us to see that we are the gift in Birdsong
At Guest Space – we welcome Stephanie Crawford who joins us with a touching article on Finding My Purpose and Direction
Week 1:
At Organising Space – Angela looks at Fit for Purpose – sharing her innate organising wisdom once again
At Breathing Space - we’ve a beautiful wallpaper for you to download, with the most glorious photo from Bo Mackison (couldn’t resist this image for Mother’s Day!) Breathe Deeply…
At Guest Space – we welcome back Joanne Keevers who shares a pivotal moment with Monte Carlo… or Me?
Hi Karen, yes, it’s a question that freezes me too, though I do think it’s a natural one for people to reflect on at certain points in their lives (even if it’s not something you can easily share in everyday conversation). Especially at times of transition like teenage years, or moving through the midlife.
Reading a book by Oriah Mountain Dreamer recently (she of ‘The Invitation’) I discovered a different way of looking at this… she wrote, it doesn’t matter *what* you do, it matters *how* you do it.
That seemed to me to be a brilliant way of answering the question… maybe it’s to spread kindness, or love, or hope, or calm, or belief… and maybe it’s done by a visit to your neighbour or spending time on the phone with someone who’s sad or maybe it’s running a multi-million pound business but at the end of the day it matters not what, but how.
Helped me feel closer to the rainbow anyway
I volunteered for years teaching religion to children after school on a weekly basis, and it was then that I learned that our “purpose” is actually from a “higher calling” – it is one part that God wants us to find joy in our calling, if we are a Shepherd, we must lead our sheep, keep them safe and train them to follow. Whatever our purpose be, it is doing the routine task that makes our life full and provide meaning.
One needs to be able to listen to that voice, that calling and realize that it is all part of a master plan. So many people are fighting their purpose and living out what others intended.
Listen to the voice, follow your path with intent.
pve
I couldn’t agree more with you, pve, when you said “so many people are fighting their purpose and living out what others intended”.
That really is the key. Do the things in your life that are the right things for you, not someone else. Happiness will follow.
I think it’s important to know that your ‘purpose’ doesn’t have to be some huge thing that you have to search for – that certainly does make it feel overwhelming. What if your purpose is to just be, exactly as you are, a light shining for others to draw strength from? You may be living your purpose by bringing people together in this way to have conversations like we are. If it weren’t for you Karen, how would I get to meet all these wonderful people from all over the World and hear what they have to say?
Your purpose doesn’t have to be something that you ‘do’, I believe you can be living your life purpose simply by being who you are.
How does that feel?
Linda, that feels calming, contented, purposeful, it feels like the way it should be.
Hello ladies! Thank you so much for visiting here and leaving your precious notes for me. I’ve been laid low this week with the flu (for the first time in years!) and so I’ve been doing the bare minimum…
@Joanna – thank you for those words of wisdom from Oriah Mountain Dreamer – how, not what, is very powerful indeed. Here’s to getting closer to that rainbow…
@Patricia – I love that… what a powerful lesson you learned from volunteering to teach others (isn’t that often the way?) Finding joy in our higher calling (no matter what that may be in the moment) by following our own path… wow. Thank you so much for sharing that!
@Joanne – you always add that extra special something to our conversations – thank you!
@Linda – That is so sweet and beautiful for you to say. Thank you.
I think that some people put this huge emphasis on ‘finding your purpose’ like it’s this monumental thing hanging out there somewhere waiting for you to go ah-ha! The lights will flash, fireworks explode and your life will never be the same once you find your purpose. Of course, the reality is something quite different and that’s what I hope we will do this month – expel that myth once and for all. I find THAT version of purpose scary, but yours- yours is beautiful!
I was thinking about my contribution to the “purpose” here and I am thinking it involves having the right “tools” which I will expand upon! Hope you feel better!
pve
Ahh, Patricia! I cannot wait to see what you share with us this month. Having the right tools sounds intriguing. And yes, thanks – making a full recovery