There is only one Life Purpose – it is connected to Soul Purpose because your soul is that which gives you life: they are one and the same. What I am referring to is the one important thing that gives your life meaning: your calling. It does not have to involve money, a career, or anything material. Your purpose may be the pursuit of truth, spirituality, healing…you may define your purpose in several words – as long as it is meaningful to you.
The need, or desire to do several things in life does not equate to overall life purpose. What is done for survival, out of obligation, boredom, or because everyone else is doing it, is not what gives your life its deepest meaning. These things may serve a purpose but they are not THE purpose.
“What if my purpose changes?”
When you decide to do, or pursue something else in life, it is somehow related to what you did, or who you were before. This is because you take yourself and your experiences with you. These are the things that are the foundation of your calling in life. There is an underlying thread of experiences that culminates in soul purpose. An example: a woman who loses her partner to some mystery illness seeks to discover what the cause is and how to treat it. She establishes a foundation in order to raise the funds required for this research. Her previous experience in business and healthcare were invaluable when setting out to do this during her middle-aged years. She may have loved what she did before but that was not her true calling. Sometimes purpose doesn’t arrive until later in life when all of the knowledge, strength and experience is there to make it happen.
“I thought what I was expected to do, was my purpose.”, or “I chose to do what was expected of me because it was easier.”
As inspirational as it sounds to pursue your calling, it isn’t easy because almost everything is set up to make you fit-in. If you are very fortunate, you will have someone in your life that helps, or allows you to find, your purpose. So many people end up in relationships, careers etc. because it was expected of them, they did not want to be “left on the shelf”, their friends were doing it…they go by what everyone else is doing because it is easier, even if they are unhappy. It is easier because they do not have to deal with the backlash, alienation, degradation, or other types of manipulation, all designed to make them conform.
“How do I find my purpose?”
The simplest answer would be to do what you love even if, at first, it is only as a hobby. It may be a hobby for a lifetime, if that is enough for you – my parents did this: my father retained his passion for carpentry even though he was a janitor for the majority of his life; my mother has continued to write poetry in amongst the various jobs that she has had over the years. (My parents taught me that they too, are individuals that need to do that thing they just love to do – that thing that they would do even if they never had children.)
You may have difficulty honing in on a passion, so it may be useful for you to recall what you enjoyed doing during childhood. Then, you can find a way(s) to make it a regular part of your life in the present and future.
The other thing that happens more often than you may realize, is that your purpose finds you. Some event, or person comes along that brings to the fore what you are here to do. This happened to me during my final year in high school when, after receiving counseling, I realized that becoming an economist was not my purpose in life (the knowledge gained in my business classes was invaluable when I started my own business later on in life). My calling involves helping people with the psychologically disempowering results of all types of victimization and trauma. This has taken many different forms over the years and it continues to change but it is still, at its core, just that one thing.
Helen
