Finding Purpose
When we begin to address the true nature of our beings, and unpack the beliefs and values that we hold close and those we don’t, we find what makes us most authentic. It is perhaps one of my most closely held beliefs that the most accurate way of finding what you are truly passionate about in this life, is to experience life in such a way that you also find what you have very little passion for. By understanding and experiencing that which we do not enjoy or find passion within, it enables us to address more succinctly that which we do enjoy and are subsequently passionate about. For many of us, this may require the substantial endeavor of self appraisal within our lives. We must actually try things to find out whether we truly enjoy them or not. Once we begin to understand where our interests lie, we can begin to take root in the activities that we enjoy the most, and try to eliminate those which we do not.
Perhaps the most difficult part of this process is that it takes time and dedication. Not to mention you will inevitably engage in activities that you truly despise. This process will likely take part over many years, or perhaps even a lifetime as we gain the requisite experience to determine our likes and dislikes. In the end, there are quite few child prodigies, and most of us will have to figure out our strengths and weaknesses through experience and adjustment. We must find our truest selves by simply making decisions that are in the best interest of impactful growth, and dealing with the repercussions as they come. By experiencing the world from your most authentic point of view, the one that is most concerned with our happiness and self development, it will often become obvious when actions or thoughts are incongruous with your truest intentions. As you become more conscious of those actions and thoughts that are not impactful to your most authentic self, you can begin to consciously uproot the motives and desires that control and limit your individuality and happiness within your life.
In my experience, when beginning this process, we must try to maintain a level of alertness to our authenticity within everything we do. By being fully conscious within our daily activities, we can begin to identify whether we truly align with the ideas, behaviors, and beliefs that we have adapted within our lives. There are a great many activities within our daily lives that we operate simply from a place of routine, acting out of uniformity rather than one of true authenticity. It can really be quite a brain fuck, but the time we spend in unconscious activity versus the time that we spend consciously acting within our lives often can be incontrovertably skewed. Try this: Simply go about your day as you normally would, with this simple exception: At each junction that requires action, examine the basis behind why you did what you did.
After a period of self examination, especially within the external world, we can begin to grasp the nature of our actions and unpack the power of awareness within these daily routines. I use the word power quite intentionally within this statement, because in many ways it actaully acts as a super power of sorts, allowing us to consciously grasp the brevity of our interactions within the world. Often our inteactions and thoughts on a particular situation will linger much longer than we wish them to, and this part and parcel of the process of finding purpose. As we slowly tease out the commerce within our daily lives that we enjoy, we can begin to exacerbate those feelings and actions, and deftly turn away from those that are less purposeful and impactful on our lives.
