Five Aspects of Purpose

Though I’d like to take a night off, I can’t.  More accurately, I won’t.  As long as I know my work blesses at least one person, I plan to remain in my Purpose for the rest of my life.  I also need to remind myself about my house on the beach with my Muse.  Have I made any big strides today?  Maybe not, but I’ve taken a few small steps, and that’s good.

Once, when I was younger, I found myself spending a lot of time alone.  I didn’t mind this; in fact I even preferred it.  It wasn’t that I didn’t have friends.  I did.  It wasn’t that I was anti-social.  I wasn’t.  I just enjoyed spending time alone.  When I was 13- 15, I would go to downtown Monterey and go to bookstores and look for comic books.   I’d walk for hours some days.  Sometimes I’d find some real treasures.  I’m still very grateful for those times. 

Now I have all the comics I could need or want.  I still buy some occasionally, but I rarely buy any from comic book stores anymore.  If there’s a comic convention, then I like to go, but I don’t need comics like I used to need them.   I enjoy them, but I don’t need them.  What I need to do is write and be with my Muse.  I need to do this every day.  One of the reasons I write is because it brings healing.  Another reason I write is because it blesses others.  So I write every day even if some of my writing, such as what I’m doing now, seems like I’m rambling. 

This is part of the writing process, by the way.  I write until I find my message.  Often I delete a lot of what I’ve written because it was just part of the warm up.  The real message comes eventually if I just keep working.  This is how Purpose works too.  We just keep working until we find our “groove,” our message.  Sometimes, often even, I have no idea what the message is when I start.  I just have to keep working.  As I said, this is how Purpose works sometimes.  You just keep working.

Purpose can be expressed in an infinite number of ways, but are there aspects of Purpose that all these different expressions have in common?  I have found five.

First, (and I’m going to use the generic pronoun “you” rather than “I” or “one.”) you have to show up every day and sometimes more than once a day.  I’m not saying never take a break or a day off, but I recommend every day as a guideline and let each person decide for him or herself.  For me, at least, I need to write every day and, as I’ve said, usually two or more times.

Second, you will love your purpose.  It will make you happy.  You will sometimes (often) wish that you could do it all day, every day.  You will think it is one of the most wonderful things in the world.  You will be right.  So will everyone else who is engaging in his or her purpose, even though everyone expresses it differently.  Each person’s Purpose is wonderful, life-giving, and joyful.  Today I saw a friend’s face light up in an arts-and-craft store because she loves decorating and being artistic.   Her joy was contagious and though I am not the most artistic man in the world, her joy made me want to decorate my own place.  It woke up my own love of beauty and order.

Third, though you make love your Purpose and though you may be good at it (great, really), you recognize that some greater Force is working through you.  This may be why you feel so powerful, yet at the same time, surprised.   You never knew you were that talented, that gifted.  But you are.  As I’ve said before, “gifted” means you were given a gift.  But it’s not for you alone.  Your responsibility is to share that gift with the world.  I also remember that this gift comes from a higher source and I use it with humility and care.  It’s as if someone lent me his Porsche indefinitely.  I’d want to be very careful with it.

Fourth, you may see your life change. It may change in large or small ways, but none of the changes will be insignificant.  They will all be part of your personal and spiritual growth.  You will experience inner healing and you will feel the presence of God.  Does this sound dramatic or overstated?  Perhaps it is, but it is also what I have consistently experienced every time I commit to my Purpose.

The final common factor is that you may see miracles happen.  Beside the miracle of inner healing that I just mentioned, you may feel in awe of the freshness and newness of your Purpose every time you work.  As an example, though it always surprises me, I somehow manage to write something new every time I sit down to write.  It’s as if the source of my Purpose is infinite.  It is.

So Get Started and Keep Going.  Enjoy the miracle of Purpose.