A Way to Look at Purpose

We are all at times perplexed by the question of “What is my purpose?” It seems big; it feels like somehow it should be attached to something obvious. We are also led to believe that once we have discovered our purpose, complete and ultimate fulfillment and meaning will be ours.

Perhaps purpose isn’t fixed. Perhaps it isn’t meant to be so obvious. Perhaps we find it in all different stages of our lives, perhaps it is in the every day. Perhaps it is how we choose to live.

I find my purpose in the work I do as a therapist. Not because of the years of service behind me, or the amount of people I have helped, but by my intention to make a person’s experience matter in that moment. 

I find my purpose in being a mother. Some days that involved story time on the couch, other times it was found in the tucking in of bed. It is found in thoughtful intention.

I can find purpose when I hold a door open for someone, or smile at a stranger as we cross paths on the sidewalk. I can find purpose in my prayers, my aim to be kind, my aim to be inclusive, my aim to forgive.

Purpose needn’t be fixed. It can be effective, it can be free flowing, it can be intentional.

Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/@grakozy