When you look at the world that surrounds you what do you see? There are some who say it’s chaos. There are some who say it’s a miracle. And then there are some who see miraculous chaos. Whatever your view, here’s a related question. What is the purpose of our human experience in this tumultuous and miraculous world?
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Is your purpose to pursue a passion you have; maybe excel at a sport, or be physically fit, or be a performing or visual artist, or part of a movement, or be a great mom or dad, or provider for yourself or others? Is it to excel in your career or to create financial well-being?
Any of those passions can be important, potentially creating an inspirational commitment to your individual human experience. But is your passion your purpose? And what happens if you don’t attain your desired objective? Often we can’t let go of our anxieties including the “I’m not good enough syndrome” when things don’t work out as we’d hoped. We can become cynical.
And what if you do successfully pursue a passion? That can be a good thing, an ecstatic thing. Right out of college I was committed to building my first business. I have some great memories of working with my team to overcome obstacles in creating a company that delivered great value to our clients and shareholders.
I was so married to that business that I intentionally avoided any committed romantic relationships. I often felt I was in the much talked of “zone”. But as I encountered other successful founders and senior executives, I frequently found they had a preoccupation with their business and often a neglect and some cynicism about other parts of life. The zone is invigorating, but I came to realize that when that passion becomes an obsession one can become disconnected from the rest of the human experience.
This disconnection often remains even when the spark wanes. The intense habits continue even after an “is that all there is” moment in what once was a passion.
Such obsession can result in a lack of growth in those parts of life that have been neglected. Seeing those traits in others prompted me to connect more meaningfully to the rest of my life. The lesson I took away was to neither let the anxieties nor passions of life become obsessions that keep us from experiencing its multi-faceted miracles and purpose.
But What Is The Purpose?
Consider this…Life is the purpose.
Your life is the purpose. The purpose of your human experience is to live your life. It includes your passions, your anxieties and so much more. Each moment of your existence is your purpose. Each day’s beginning is your spark to engage it. Whether cast in grey or brightness, each day provides us the opportunity to experience the greatest of human values: love, compassion, fortitude, generosity, courage, creativity, personal and shared achievements, joys, forgiveness, gratitude and kindness. It offers the possibilities for someone to care for you and for you to care for others; to benefit each other’s well-being.
Keep in mind that no life worth living is free of challenges and constraints. Each day is there to contribute to our life understanding and wisdom. We can choose how we are going to engage that day.
I choose to see the day as an opportunity to be aware of and surrounded by the miraculous: The awesome balancing forces of the spinning planets; the cycle of grandeur and beauty of our own Earth’s natural world; the towering snow-covered peaks, the drift of a snowflake, the blooms in the spring, the tumbling colors of the fall. The miraculous complexity of the creations of human kind: the flight of an airplane, the making of a pencil, your keyboard connections and the food in your fridge. The birth of a baby and the growth of a person.
Life may be chaotic at times but it is always miraculous. Life is the purpose that can include but transcends labels, movements, politics and even our own passions, because life is more than any one of those things or all of those things.
That is not to say passions are not important and rewarding, whether they be achievements in one’s career or things that make your heart beat outside of work. As regular readers know I am a passionate champion of achievement.
Instead, the lesson offered is to neither let our anxieties nor our passions become obsessions that disconnect us from the purpose that unfolds for us every day. Recognize that life is that purpose; this day is your purpose; this moment is your purpose. Be alive in it. Live it fully and marvel in it, now, and every now that follows.
Here’s to your purpose.
Quotes
“A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.”
“Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.”
“Ordinary riches can be stolen; real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you.”
“I put all my genius into my life; I put only my talent into my works.”
Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde (1854-1900) was an Irish poet and playwright who became one of the most popular playwrights in London.
Interrupted Sitting
Your skeletal muscles are the largest organ in your body. Just turning them on turns down inflammation. By getting up every 15 minutes or so to get a cup of coffee or empty the dishwasher or play with your pet, you trigger the production of molecules that turn down inflammation, even though you’re not expending much energy. Interrupting your sitting is good for you.