Relaxing to Purpose

Relaxing to Purpose

How is your life meaningful? How do you share your gifts? What makes you feel on purpose?

One of the things I love about my life is that feeling of living intentionally. I like that I have found this means of sharing my gifts with you, and that sharing with you hones in me the skills I talk about practicing. All that practice I’ve done on the little stuff makes using my skills on the big stuff pretty much automatic.

I wake up each day looking forward to writing and publishing my appreciations, and these contemplations. Seriously. It makes waking up worthwhile for me. Clicking post and send is satisfying. Knowing that I’ve done my best to tell you stuff that has helped me, helped a lot of other people, live more enjoyable lives feels wonderful. Purpose.

I like that the phrase “on purpose” has two meanings. I love the sense of being on track toward my best self-expression, and I love the sense of intentionality.

Why am I intentional? What makes me follow through? Why do I like what I do?

It took me a long time to own my purpose. I was kind of doing it all along, even if I didn’t recognize it. It’s like that for many of us. We almost can’t help doing what will give us the most satisfaction, but until we own it as ours, we might not even enjoy it. We might even feel burdened by it. I sure did. I’ve been helping us find our way since I was about four. As a kid, it seemed like way too much. People just seem to show up, tell me their secrets and ask for advice. It was one thing when it was my peers, it was very different when it was adults. Still,  I always did my best in that role, even when it was scary.

Being on purpose is what makes our life meaningful to us. Flowers are pretty and smell nice to draw the attention of pollinators so they can make more flowers. But not everyone wants to be a flower. We each come to our purpose through our particular gifts. It is effortless, just what we do. We may resist owning it, like I did, but it is much harder for us to resist doing it.

I remember considering my purpose, wondering what it was, and discounting what I did as not important enough some how. I had to relax a lot in order to accept that the easy, inconsequential thing I did was my purpose. Oh, what a wonderful difference that made in my life; both the learning to relax about stuff, and the owning of my purpose.

Why do I matter? How do I make a difference? Why can I relax?

If you are on purpose, you already know. If you are looking for your purpose, look to your past at the thing you just can’t help doing, and try that on. If it doesn’t feel important enough, or feels scary, try relaxing and see what happens.

Each of us has a unique purpose, special to us. Owning that purpose, working in it, can bring us joy and satisfaction, a sense of accomplishment, and contentment. For some of us, it may be a people thing, for others of us, it may be a building or designing thing, art, music, family. There is one for you.

How have I changed from drifting to living on purpose?

(c) Pam Guthrie 2014 all rights reserved 06262014