Finding Purpose In Life
All of my life, I knew I was here to do something big. Something that would require all my internal and external resources to make it Reality. I am blessed because this insight was with me and has never left me. Even though at times its vividness may have diminished, its spark may have dimmed, that silent voice was forever etched into my consciousness.
That being true, there were many times as a child, and in my early life, whereby I was deeply unsettled, often confused, so much so that depression and apathy became very familiar acquaintances to me. The trouble was this sense of purpose, although it never really left me, was obscured by the craziness in my environment and the world. This inner knowing, was never spoken about by people, was never acknowledged by people, never nurtured by people, never supported people, not in my home life, or in my education.
This sense of having a purpose in life became, over time, a kind of vague background feeling. As I said, however, the flame never indeed went out. Because of this, within me was created a tremendous divide between the desire for passion, fulfillment and purpose, and the suffering of not knowing how to find it. There was a great inner conflict because I knew I had potential, I knew there was a grand vision inside me, yet I had no map, no company, no way of actualising that vision.
As time went on, I lost direction and passion for most things. I wasn’t happy just settling for a life of mediocrity, but i didn't feel like there was another choice. I felt empty inside. I was painting a smile upon my face, I could look like everything was fine, but underneath I was empty. When direction left my life, then it was only one step before meaning did too. When those components go, then the purpose is very easily distorted, even lost!
A way out of suffering
I remember a long time back in my early twenties when I was feeling incredibly depressed that I started embarking on a more conscious search for meaning and finding purpose in life. I think, looking back, I was always searching, but at that point in my life, it became more deliberate. I became aware that I was looking for something, and at the same time, I started to recognise that the world didn’t have the key or the secret to this fundamental discovery. The search for life purpose became an internal one, one of introspection, examination and self-discovery.
This turning point was a landmark in my life, it was a junction of lucid choice, and to be honest, it was a relatively easy choice to make since my life at that point was mostly unhappy, what could I lose?
There are times in life whereby we meet critical junctions, a crossroads where we are presented with alternatives and different paths to walk. We need to be aware enough to notice these moments because if we do see them, it means that something is revealing itself in your consciousness. Something is being made lucid, and this needs to be recognised as significant and important. It means that the old ways must end, and a new way needs to be discovered.
Find your purpose
It’s easy to see the chaos and disharmony in the world. I don’t think there is a country anywhere that isn’t, to some degree going through a crisis. There are two ways we can view this: One is we can lose ourselves in the craziness. The second is we can use it as a catalyst for self-discovery, for a fundamental shift in our psyche and our being.
The irony is that, as a species, we are in this mess because we have collectively invested almost no resources, physical, mental, emotional or spiritual into finding our sense of purpose. It does not seem like the quest to find your life purpose, to help you find vision, or your unique significance and contribution to life are choices that are seen as valuable.
We have fallen asleep to our great potential, and as a result, we are at the mercy of seemingly external and internal forces. We are swayed by the wind and influenced by the many external pressures and voices. We’ve lost our soul signature, and we’ve lost our creativity and power.
Did you know that a sense of purpose in life is just as essential as water for one to live a life of fulfillment?
“Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it.”
- Buddha
If we are lucky, we may recognise that purpose is not found outside of ourselves, although outside is where it is made manifest. No. purpose in life is always, always an internal discovery from our fundamental nature, a place where we connect with who and what we are.
This connection into our true self is so vital and can be best understood, initially at least by recognising our disconnection to our true self. If the discovery of our greater good exists within us, then the problem or block to our greater good must also lie within us.
The world is in a mess because of our disconnection from ourselves. We don’t often view it like that because we have projected our dissatisfaction onto the external world, but the world is always a by-product of mind, whether it be individual or collective mind.
If we wish to change the world, we need to change our mind. I am not saying that we do not need to take any action to change anything in the world, nor am I saying to become lifeless in our views and opinions. They have a place, but as long as we believe that the source of the world's problems is ‘out there’ then we are missing the mark. I knew that was true; however, I didn’t know what to do about it.
Find your purpose
Connection to our core being and our purpose is identical, in fact, they are two sides of the same coin of growth. They grow simultaneously, organically as we embark on the ultimate frontier of human potential. As said before, the reason there are so much chaos and disharmony, whether it be collective or individual, is because we don’t know how to navigate this ultimate adventure. This ultimate human frontier into our great potential is not taught or even discussed, and as a result, many people feel lost.
Yet, there is a method in the madness. For many, it may take great upheaval to meet the turning point and say ‘enough finally is enough,’ yet this is the moment for which we have all been waiting. This moment is the moment we start to claim sovereignty over our being and our life purpose. This realisation is a sacred moment, and if you have arrived at that point, then you are blessed.
I am not saying that this realisation needs to be complicated or challenging; it doesn’t have to be that way, but what I am saying is that we need to recognise it, for it can help you find your reason for being. We need to understand that we have an inner choice to follow a different road.
What I have discovered, and am still finding, is the internal universe of our psyche is far far more significant than the external. There is a real meaning lying at the very centre of our mind, so much beauty, power, joy, love. It has intelligence, it has universal significance and purpose, and it is sacred.
Meditation to find your purpose
Everyone has this part inside them, and if we are to end the chaos, whether it be internal or external, we need make the one step from looking outside of ourselves for answers and turn our attention inward to reconnect with this space. This subjective, unlimited consciousness gives direction to our lives and rock-solid stability in the stillness and love of our being. It is the one real place that the chaos cannot touch.
This stillness is always untouched by the craziness of the world; it lies forever free of its dictates. Finding this still place inside connects us to stability and allows our unique life purpose to flow and express itself.
This connection is not to some external God or deity; it is a connection to a fundamental Reality of Being. If we wish to change the world, we need to look at our self and reconnect with this state of being. It is the part us where we find purpose, it is the part of us where we find passion and it is the part of us where we find love.
Others may disagree
Many people see the idea of meditation as something selfish, something that puts us in a bubble to avoid the things in our lives that cause us suffering. Nothing could be further from the truth. Meditation, if it is taught correctly, removes you from the bubble and brings you to an experience where, rather than avoiding things that cause suffering, it helps you transcend them. All of the goals of meditation, all of the goals of spiritual work are to discover that there is more purpose to life than we ever dreamed possible, and to directly experience what that "more" is.
In my experience, we are all born with a gift and a purpose that is highly creative, powerful and positive. It is a blueprint for the greater good that we all have, every one of us. That purpose goes far beyond any job or any career I could create for my life, even though one's work may be an expression of it. To fulfil that purpose, to shake hands with its power and passion, we need to meet it, in the one place where it lives, in the stillness of our heart, and then act upon its intention. Only then are we capable of living our highest potential.
