Do It On Purpose - Do It With Purpose

Purpose is the place where your deep gladness meets the world's needs. ~ Frederick Buechner

The purpose of life is to discover your gift. The meaning of life is to give your gift away. ~ David Viscott

I've always envied those people who were born with a calling; the ones who, at age three, would tell others they were going to be a doctor and stuck to that plan without ever changing their minds, becoming specialists at an age the rest of us are finally trying to figure out what to do with our lives. When asked what we "want to be", most of us - at age three, four, 8, 15, 35 - would answer with something like, "I want to be a ballerina-gymnast-scientist-inventor-detective-homeowner." 

What in your life is calling you, when all the noise is silenced, the meetings adjourned...the lists laid aside, and the wild iris blooms by itself in the dark forest...What still pulls on your soul? ~ Rumi

Sometimes our callings are colorful and grand, while our talents, abilities and fortitude don't always match up. As a child I was certain I was going to be a singer or a writer. Despite my constant practicing in high school, and achieving high placement in both All-Regional and All-State Choirs every year I tried out, I learned that I just don't have what it takes to be the singer I thought I could be. For one thing, I'm an introvert with stage fright. For another, I'm just not a very good singer. Technically, I was fine, and I don't completely suck at it, but I'm not as gifted as I'd been led to believe (ask my neighbors) and - as it turns out - it's not the driving purpose of my life, only a fun pastime. I'm okay with that. 

Writing ... I'm working on it. It is a driving purpose. Words are my favorite thing. I write and write and write. I tell stories. If I can't play with language, I start to get depressed. Whenever I've been in another country, where my foreign language skills are extremely basic, I've realized that the thing I have to offer others is my use of language; to entertain; to connect; to express emotion, interest, comfort... It's my most prized tool and asset.  

For some lucky people, the adage "Do what you love and the money will follow" has worked out brilliantly. They've discovered their purpose, worked tirelessly to hone their craft, figured out how to market themselves and ...Taa-DAA! That's a sweet life, right there. It's always worth a shot! 

Though it would be the greatest thing ever, our purpose isn't always our professional calling. Even so, never let that fact stop you from doing what you love whenever you can. Find a way. Fill your life with YOUR purpose! Take inventory of your gifts and look for opportunities to share them with the world to cultivate love, beauty and delight. Use your talent and strengths to make a difference and move forward. Live your life with intention.

If you have a purpose in which you can believe, there's no end to the amount of things you can accomplish. ~ Marian Anderson

Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence. ~ Henry David Thoreau

Determine the thing that can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way. ~ Abraham Lincoln

To love what you do and feel that it matters...how could anything be more fun? ~ Katherine Graham

Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant. ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

JUST A FEW PEOPLE WHO LIVE(D) WITH DEFINITE PURPOSE

Dr. Seuss

Jane Goodall

Mother Teresa

Temple Grandin