Over the last month there have been multiple times I've been involved in conversations about purpose/identity. I was at a retreat and that was the topic and the others were conversations with different individuals. This is a difining part of our lives yet I'd say more than ninety percent of the people I've talked to over the years have absoultely no idea what theirs is or how to go about figuring it out. What's the big deal about this? Simply put... life is really boring and pointless without it. I've been on both sides of this topic and I say with much passion that life is way cooler knowing who I was born to be. It has revolutionized my life and the way I interact with others.
Looking back over the years of my life that I didn't realize my purpose I see how easily I was moved by the influence of others. I also see how I took my identity from what I was doing instead of letting who I was identify what I did. It goes even deeper. I look back at my teenage years and realize that because I didn't know who I was I was willing to do a lot of things I wish now that I hadn't. I know the old saying that hindsight is 20/20 but that's not what I'm getting at. I submit that the driving force behind those teen blunders was trying to figure out who I was and where I fit. Becuase I didn't know my identity I would do different things and then based on how they felt or the response I got from others I would either continue in that pattern or try another one. It's kind of like trying on different costumes to see which one I and others liked the best. The one that got me the most satisfying response was the one I worked to keep despite the feeling of emptiness it brought. This may be something most people never really process through especially when they are teenagers, and this is a great tragedy because of the impact this has on a person's life. We were formed and born for a purpose with special gifts and abilities that are uniqe to us. I realize that others have similar abilities but there's a reason I believe that no two people have the exact same DNA or the exact same fingerprints. There's something deeper to life than just getting by. What is it? How do I find it? Those are questions that set us on the greatest adventure of our lives. Are you in? Do you want something more than what you have now? If so there's no better time than now to get started!
Where does a person start this journey? What will it look like? Where will it take them? All these are valid questions to which there are some simple answers and some that aren't so simple. My journey has been easy and hard at times... mountain top experiences to be sure but also plenty of time in the valley too. I remember seeing a sign outside a little church in the country one time that said, " Mountain tops are for scenic views, but fruit is grown in the valley." I love it and hate it all at the same time. When I began this journey a really great friend asked me a simple question that I had no answer too at the time... If money was no object, and you could do or be anything you wanted, what would it be? It took me almost a year to answer that question and by the time I realized it was being answered I also realized I was well into my journey to become the person I was created to be. I am still on that journey. Not to know who I am but to reach the depths of who I am. Its a treasure hunt and the jewels are priceless! To begin this journey you might start with the same question I was asked. If money was no object and you could do or be anything, what would it be? Know that you're going to be frustrated because as you find one answer it will lead to more questions but don't be discouraged because the answers you'll find to those questions are those jewels I was talking about. What it will look like and where it will go I can't answer. Its a mistery filled with adventure and suspence. I can promise though that it is worth it!
