Do you ever, in those maudlin or worried moments, find yourself asking, “What is the purpose of all this?” It is a natural rhythm of life to feel the ups and downs of moods and when we are in the downs (and sometimes the ups) we fall into the questioning of what life is all about and what is our role in living life well.
A few years ago Pastor Rick Warren, wrote the book The Purpose Driven Life and the book sat on the top of several best-sellers lists and sold millions of copies. People were excited about finding purpose in their life which seems to imply there was a thirst for this.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist and poet and a champion of individualism, wrote, “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honourable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”
And I would have to agree. Purpose comes from being useful and making a difference in the lives of those around you.
Emerson implies that it does not have to be big. Purpose comes from being compassionate, and from being honourable. Of course this could happen in big ways on the world stage or it could happen by helping a neighbour, offering a drive, sharing some food, supporting a charity.
The people that surround me, people that I would describe as people with a sense of purpose, are people who see beyond themselves, who value others and extend a hand of generosity, generosity of spirit as well as resources. We can find the “meaning of life” by looking beyond ourselves and taking others needs and desires to heart.
Have a great weekend and live it with purpose.
