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awareness, compassion, contemplation, creativity, dreams, inspiration, life, purpose, service, truth, writing
The question of ‘Purpose’ has been tickling me remorselessly for at least a year,, and I had an interesting experience this week when I wrote on this topic with a group I was guiding. I compared what I had written to my response to the exact same exercise well over a year ago, and the difference was, well – huge!
Let me first share the exercise. Begin by spontaneously completing the following four sentences with whatever thought springs to mind. Try not to over-think or edit what arises.
* When I was a child, I believed I was here to…
* As a teenager, I believed I was here to…
* As an adult, I believe I am here to…
* The most important thing life has taught me about why I’m here is…
You then simply choose one of those sentences and write, for about ten minutes, to expand on that thought/theme.
The first time I did this, about 18 months ago I think, I chose the first – as a child – and this is what I wrote:
It was from quite a young age, say about eleven, that I decided I was here to change things. I looked at the world much as I looked at myself, something of value but that could be improved. My heart was raw, passionate and open. I heard of suffering and I wanted to be the one to bring it to an end. I thought I was here to make other people’s lives better, and something in that innocent power of youth believed sincerely that I could.
I remember having seen a television program about children in the UK living in poverty. I wrote to the Prime Minister, asking him to do something about it, asking why, how was this possible? I believed I was here to ask questions. I took nothing for granted, took nobody’s word for it. If I didn’t agree, I’d ask further questions to try to get to the bottom of things. I was, I am, a digger.
I believed I was here to share the abundance I’d been born into, with apparently no reason beyond life’s mysterious pot luck. I felt the weight of my good fortune and believed life had given me a mission, a responsibility I enjoyed and took seriously and addressed with all my heart. The responsibility to make the world a better place for my having been in it.
I didn’t know how I was going to do that, and my early loves of acting, horse riding and writing were ways of cultivating and sharing passion and joy, but I didn’t consciously see those activities as contribution. They were my fun, but they weren’t why I was here. Whatever that was, it had to be much. much more important and much more serious than fun…
I’ll share part two – the more recent piece, plus a poem – tomorrow. In the meantime, if you have any wisdom or experience to feed into my exploration of this topic of Purpose…please do!
May your life be blessed with meaning
May your days be filled with fun
May you welcome in equal measure
both the rain clouds and the sun…
wordsthatserve 
That’s a really great idea, it certainly makes you think about your life.
Thanks Rosie – yes, it’s simple but it works to get you thinking. H xxx
Hello, This is interesting. As I was reading your “prompts” I realised that my answers were all the same (and I didn’t try hard-thinking or anything) which is: …. to help others.
I may expand it, as you suggest, even if not in paper at least in my mind.
Blessings of Love & Light š
Hi Natalia, glad you found it interesting. How wonderful to have the same clear purpose running through your whole life, thanks for sharing that, and may helping others bring you much joy and fulfillment. Hugs, Harula xxx
Vey interesting Harula! My answers to the first two are very selfish – to be happy!
The answer to the third is to love, help and to be an example to others. And the last one I found very difficult not to over think. So my first response was to know I can make a difference; we all can; we all have somethingco offer no matter how “small” we think it may be.
Looking forward to more.
Love xxx
Oh Christine, I love this comment, and I’m glad you found this an interesting prompt. I love what you share about the last one, that really resonates with me. There have been times when I have felt overwhelmed and felt too small and insignificant to be of use to anyone, but life has taught me as it has you – we can all make a difference. Have a wonderful weekend dear friend. Hugs, Harula xxx
What a great idea, Harula. My answers started off with ‘have fun’ and ended up with ‘spread help and love’ š
Glad you liked the idea Dianne:-) Long may you continue to have fun spreading that help and love all around! Hugs and smiles, Harula xxx
Thank you so much for sharing this inspiring post, Harula. I took the time to sit down and reflect on these questions. Surprisingly a well of words was unlocked after a long time of silence regarding my writing. Thank you for having been the midwife of a new post in my blog. Lots of coincidence happened during this week and your words were part of it. More of it during one of our next cups of tea and lots of Love to you for now.
Wow – that’s amazing! I’m so glad you found it inspiring, thanks so much for letting me know, and I look forward to reading your post:-) How wonderful to have a week so full of beautiful ‘coincidences’, and I look forward to that next magical cup of tea when I hope to hear more! All my love and gratitude always, Harula xxxxx
Harula, this was so fascinating. For chiildhood, I got “play, create, and help”. For my teenage years, I drew a big blank! (My teenage years were very difficult and I probably thought I was here only to suffer!) For my adult years, I got “give compassion, create, and play.” So I guess I’ve come full circle! š Thanks so much for this.
Wow, thanks Jill. That means a lot coming from you:-) Actually, that’s really interesting, because in the group I did this with that came up a lot, people finding themselves coming full circle to a new/deeper/refined way of expressing the purpose they were already connected with as a child. Indeed – fascinating! Thanks so much for sharing my friend. Blessings always, Harula xxxx
For me, the answer to all the questions was the same: to write. But the how and the why changed from question to question, and that’s what I found enlightening. In my teenage years, another purpose came up; to help others. And then in my adult years, to love. By then I found one question torn by three different answers. But then I came to the last question – I think the most important thing life has taught me about what I’m here to do is that all the different purposes I have aren’t as different as I used to think. They can do a lot more than coexist, they can work well together if I’m willing to let them and not force them apart by desperate feelings that I’m “not doing enough” for each seemingly independent purpose.
Really an enlivening exercise in introspection, thank you for sharing!
Harula, I love this writing activity and love your response to it. I think if everyone had that type of mentality, and everyone strived to contribute to making the world better… Actually I can’t even picture how awesome our world would be if more people thought like you. I really enjoyed reading this. Great job!
Oh, I LOVE this exercise! I’m gonna do it on my blog sometime soon!
Seriously?! Wow, super cool – thanks Mike:-) As you often have before, you’ve again just made my day. Happy hugs, H xxx
Aw. And yes, I’m serious. Not right away as I’ve just done a big ol’ autobiographical thing, but soon.
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