Why are You Here?

You are here for a reason.

Perhaps, like my brother, you were born knowing you are an artist. Perhaps you are like my friend, who at 83, still doesn’t doesn’t quite know why she’s on the planet.  Many of us are certain we have a purpose, but not so certain we understand it.

You probably have a notion; an inkling about your purpose or purposes.  You are aware of fulfilling some role or function in many stages and spheres of life.  You know you are good at listening, or you make people laugh, are a born leader, you are musical, or help others get along. There could be several things that come up over and over.  

These are things that you seem to be good at, that you really enjoy, that people notice about you. These clues have probably been with you for a long time. You may have had intuitive messages from  yourself or others.  You may have heard voices or felt urges to pursue something; a career or a skill.

It is also possible that you have been called by subtle but persistent whispers, or have even ordered loudly to go in a given direction.  You could have been thrown into a role repeatedly or had it mentioned to you by various and sundry who noticed what seemed to be your purpose. 

Your purpose or some part of it can also be something you ignored or resisted.  To my shame, I spent years saying, “No, I don’t think that would work.” in response to a call. I thought it was a case of mistaken Identity.  

Until recently, my experience has been one of obtuse refusal to hear, or objections that that I thought were simply practical concerns.  I heard my intuition say repeatedly to pursue a ministry and share my mysticism with the world.  “No way!  I’m not a minister and don’t want a degree in divinity!  I already have one in business!”

Eventually, the calling became unavoidable.  I caved in and decided I could accept this purpose and see what it was about. I finally answered the voice with a simple “OK”.  

I expected my purpose and calling to require a divinity degree, but in fact, it was not at all like that. I expected it to be difficult, and yet a whole lot of things got easier.  My life became less complicated when I could put it in the context of what I was called upon to do. I also felt better. For the first time I didn’t feel like I was dropped to earth from an alien spacecraft.

Opportunities popped up for me to fulfill my purpose.  Oddly enough, I found most of these fun and interesting and vastly different from my preconceived notions.  Sometimes it was just a calling to bring some love to others in my interactions.  I frequently find myself saying “Who Knew?”

I also discovered that I had been fulfilling my purpose to some degree in indirect or unexpected ways.  I hadn’t really rebelled as fully as I had thought.

Do you know your purpose, roughly speaking?  And, I would say knowing it roughly is good enough because I think it probably is not set in stone despite being quite constant. 

Do you know why you are here? Your purpose is a good focus for seeking inner guidance. If you rely on intuition or you pray, ask your heart “what is my purpose today?” and listen hard for the answer. I like to make this a regular practice and allow for some variation in the answer.