One sultry summer evening as I sat on the patio with a dear friend we mulled over a fabulous glass of wine when they shared with me, the desolation almost palpable: “I just want to fulfill my destiny here on earth before I die!”
The pulsating fear was so intense I immediately stopped mid sip to ask my friend for clarification on what they meant by that statement. What Destiny?
“I guess, to figure out what we are all supposed to do while we are here”
“To fully utilize all of the time we have been given here” “to feel that my life served a higher purpose” “to leave some sort of memorable legacy beyond my earthly years” were some of the most emotionally charged responses.
I spent the rest of the Labor Day Weekend confidentially ruminating over what core truth lied at the heart of their cry.
For so many of us, the constant gnaw of the inescapability of time is a constant battle we are up against. Many of us have spent years mulling over to ourselves “will any of this even matter?” “Does what I do really
matter? or spent many a morning on January 1st to find themselves cursing that it is just another day in which they find themselves in the same place (rather than be exalted by divine inspiration galvanizing them to bullyrag the world into bending to their will, I suppose!)
To combat this quiet droning, we have all heard a very lofty rhetoric from the media, public institutions…hell even our own families “Fulfill your destiny!” But what does that truthfully mean?
If it still does not make sense to you, don’t despair, you are not alone!
The world is a running contest of who can conform the most. It is not easy being someone who marches to the beat of their own drum! Collective pressures (as there are surely a multitude of them) to conform are ceaseless and when we don’t conform the results can be dangerous.
We risk facing rejection from our peer group, our immediate family as well as the larger “they” of our fellow brothers and sisters of society. When laid out plainly, it is quite easy to see where the urgency and necessity to fall in line are rooted. It is extraordinarily difficult to break away from the safe siren-song of conformity, to free yourself from the idea: Everyone else is so far ahead! They’ve already figured out their calling and are answering! I’m missing out on my calling – I can’t miss the call!
I am here to let you know IT IS possible to break away from this rat-race of ever increasing disappointments and comparisons. I am here to advise you to listen to that bold voice inside of you; when we train ourselves to slow down and honestly tune into ourselves, we are never without the answers we seek. The divine voice will never lie to us about what our soul is advising us to do. When we train ourselves to be able to honestly translate this song, and language we put ourselves into a position of unimaginable power.
Be kind to yourself, there are no comparisons between ourselves and any other person walking the planet. There is no secret clock that is judging how long it takes you to figure out what your purpose is, if ever. Living a life filled with self-love,( those who love themselves also love others) peace of mind (those at peace make great contributions to the world around them) and laughter (laughter allows us to see the world differently) is a life filled with purpose.
(+ Connect this back to the larger theme of misconception that the “purpose” will bring “glory” and “fame”, but sometimes it is a million small kindness which add up to one “large” act )