It’s about purpose ….
Someone asked me the other day: “What are you most afraid of?’ I was thrilled - it’s one of my favourite questions. For me it’s a door opener into a deeper conversation about life; it gets people thinking, opening up, being more vulnerable. It leads to connection and greater intimacy, expressing our human beingness. I love asking that question. But then I realized … I’m not so good at answering it for myself!
Mother Nature knows
I was pondering this question on my walk in the forest this morning, as I sloshed my way through the puddles and laughed when the spray blew up into my face from the racing river below. I often find answers to those deeper tricky-to-answer questions by turning to Mother Nature to see what messages she has, providing clarity for my thinking.
So it was this morning, as I carefully walked down the slippery steps, slimy and green from all this rain, that I was pondering on ‘what am I afraid of?’. Then, as the path leveled out beneath my feet, answers began to flow in my head, like the river beside me, murky and swirling in places, then gushing and spewing its way through the narrower chasms, its fine spray enveloping me in an enchanting perspective of life through the mist.
Am I afraid of not being happy?
That was my immediate answer, but my thoughts continued to swirl like the river churning beside me. Am I afraid of dying? Or worse, living an unfulfilled life? Uncertainty prevailed. But just as I stepped up onto a big rock at the river’s edge, focusing my gaze on the opposite bank, I knew with sudden clarity the answer I’d been looking for. I’m afraid that I don’t matter. With a surge of emotion rising up inside me, matching the equally powerful downpour around me – I knew this was the truth.
It’s not that I’m looking to accomplish great things for the sake of achieving greatness, nor is it to have people whisper my name in awe after I’m dead and gone – but it’s important to me to do something useful, to not waste this precious thing called life, to do something that matters.
I have a choice
I have such an advantage over those who are dying of starvation, or who travel alone in a hostile world leaving family buried under rubble. I feel it’s my duty, my obligation to do something useful with my life. From this place of privilege, abundance, peace, and good health, I have the choice to do something with my life - or not.
It’s important for me to do work that matters, making a positive difference in people’s lives, contributing to the greater good, raising global consciousness.
To be the best we can be
As individuals, it’s not just the work we do that matters, but who we are that matters. We can be full of doubts and fears, and worry that we’re not good enough or big enough to make the difference we want to make - playing small instead.
Or, in the face of overwhelming odds (those pesky doubts we have about ourselves), we can realize our own unique potential and step up to the challenge of being the very best we can be.
This lies at the heart of many conversations I’ve had recently, bubbling up from people of all ages. It’s a conversation about ‘purpose.’
Making a difference
As I looked up through the raindrops this morning at the magnificent Douglas Firs towering above me, I recognized myself as a mere microcosm in the grand scheme of the universe, less than a seven-billionth member of the human race. So, what on earth can I do that would actually make a difference, that would actually matter? I know I have the potential to do something useful with my life – but what?
When I look at the pain and suffering in the world, I somehow feel ashamed, embarrassed that as human beings we’re not pulling together to halt the steady degradation caused by our greed for wealth, power and comfort. For those of us who are trying to do something good, it’s sometimes hard to stay the course when we see how much injustice there is in the world, and how much corruption and fake news seem to win the day.
How can I possibly make a difference when all that’s going on? When the problems are so huge, what can I, just little old me, do about it?
We all have a purpose
Looking upstream, it suddenly dawned on me that the waterfall cascading down above me is made up of gazillions of water droplets, each one contributing to the whole beautiful swirling river on its way out to sea. Each and every droplet has a purpose - supporting Nature, nurturing life.
As this tiny human being in the great cosmos of life, I alone cannot solve the world’s problems, but I can make a small but valuable contribution, fulfilling my role as a fully expressed, loving human being.
Every task I complete with love and compassion, no matter how small in the outside world, is a stepping stone to a life of integrity and fulfillment in my inside world.
So, what am I really afraid of? I’m afraid of not living up to my potential or fulfilling my purpose, of not expressing who I really am, of not doing my very best.
That’s what really matters
Still standing in the rain, I was again in awe of Mother Nature’s wise counsel: The best I can do is the best I can be. Helping others find their own unique purpose – to be the best they can be – that’s what really matters to me. Like the countless droplets in the river beside me, as we flow down the river of life, we will collectively help humanity to be the best we can be. And that’s what really matters to the world.
So, what really matters to you?
Five things to help you reveal your potential
Be grateful - appreciate what you have and listen to the wisdom of Mother Nature
Have compassion - remember we all have feelings, be gentle and help your fellow humans
Be authentic - don’t try and be someone you’re not - just be your true Self. You’re perfect the way you are
Play a bigger game - don’t take the easy route, step up, make a difference every day
Be curious - pay attention to messages from the Universe, there are signposts all the way