Know Your Life's Purpose?

Discovering Your Life Purpose: Living the Life You Were Born to Live
by Melanie Votaw



Is your life filled with purpose? Every single one of us has a reason for being
here on the planet right now, and every one of us has a unique contribution that
no one else can make. It's the reason you were born. Are you living the life you
were born to live? This inspiring course takes you on a journey of exploration
and evaluation. Ask yourself the right questions and unveil answers that may
surprise you.


Am I the only one who still wonders from time to time what I want to be when I really grow up? It seems to me this question plagues most of us at least some of the time and some of us most of the time.

I don't want to be just marking time, waiting for my real life to begin, do you? I don't think that anything has such a significant impact on self esteem as finding out who you really are and what you're meant to be doing in this life. And then going for it.

That's not to say that I'm a lost lamb who has no idea what I'm doing or why; but there are certainly times when I don't seem to be headed in the right direction and what I'm doing seems quite pointless. Naturally enough, this often has a lot to do with responsibilities to self and family...I mean, it's difficult to discern a true sense of purpose when you're doing the fourth load of washing and the pile still hasn't shrunk.

There are days when it comes down to what I call the 'Ripple in the Pond' effect, a concept that brings me comfort when I seem to be ploughing through the necessary drudgery without making much of an impact on what I see as my 'real purpose'.

The ripple in the pond effect is a simple one. Think of it like this. When you drop a pebble into a pond, you'll see the concentric ripples spread to the far banks. It might be just a tiny pebble and it might have taken you only a moment and not much effort to drop it in - yet the effects are far reaching. In the same way, random acts of kindness can spread out from one tiny source to touch places we'll never see. It doesn't take a lot of effort but it does take an attitude of mindfulness.

Instead of bypassing that frazzled young mother in the shops, take a moment to smile at her and tell her how lovely her children are. Or, as I had the opportunity to say last night, 'Don't worry, some things get easier as they get older. You're doing great.' Imagine how far that effect might spread...I hope she felt uplifted and more able to handle her hyped up kids with tolerance. And then I hope the kids calmed down a little and stopped fighting. Maybe Dad will be mighty grateful to see them come home and go to bed peacefully, giving him some quality time with his wife.

Who knows? I don't see these consequences...I don't know what really happens. But I do believe in dropping pebbles of kindness into the ocean of life. I believe in the concept of critical mass - the more people who practice this mindfulness the closer the world will come to Utopia (for want of a better word). Wouldn't it be Utopia though if the world were flooded with kindness, caring and compassion?

So the ripple in the pond idea keeps me going when I feel I'm not achieving much in this life and helps me to place the emphasis where it rightly belongs, on the small, significant things.