Have you ever wondered “What is the purpose of life? What is the purpose of my life?”
I have. In fact, all the time. I searched high and low, trying to figure out how to make a sense out of this seemingly ordinary and uneventful life for as long as I can remember. I often wondered; what’s the meaning of all the hustle-bustles in life when nothing seem to be lasting forever. One day we all are going to disappear into thin air. Then, what’s point of being born, living in the first place? I struggled with my innate pessimism and lack of motivation as I wanted life to show me “the purpose” so that I can strive to live for better reason.
It was not until recently that it dawn on me, I WAS living the very life I sought for, though I was unaware at times. That’s when my 13 year-old asked me what my favorite book was in my growing up years. Yes. I loved reading story books when I was small, frequently venturing into the world of fantasy, adventures in my imagination. What I wanted was, a magic wand with the power to transform mine as well as others’ lives to something extra ordinary, from being ordinary and boring ones. I finally came to understand life by simply looking back my footsteps in the past that was stretched to the present and until the future.
One of my favorite books was “the adventure of Robinson Crusoe.” It is the story of a man who got stranded in an island in his youth, finding ways to survive alone for 30 over years before he finally returned to his homeland of Spain. (If you do not know the full story, you can borrow it from your children’s school library.) His lonesome adventure, in how he managed to learn all the life skills of farming, sowing, cooking and figuring out time, seasons, and others, somehow captured my young heart in a strange way. I read the book many times.
It dawn on me that the choices I made in my life were very much influenced by what those stories had formed in my young psychic, especially the adventure of Robinson Crusoe. Like him, I settled into a completely unknown land, away from home, culture and family; thereby learning all the life skills by my own of which I have never knew or trained before. How interesting! I realized that whatever impression that went into during our childhood, stores deep into our sub consciousness to manifest in strange ways later; thereby shaping our future, influencing the choices we make and the directions we take in life. We just don’t know or can’t foresee at that time.
In choosing the life path to tread on, consciously and unconsciously, I always chose the path of psychic forces, consciousness rather than conventional social and material realms. Of course, it was much more difficult than just going along with others as there was not much help or guidance, except the faint voice from my own heart. I asked the question of ‘why’ to life but it came back with my own echo not the clear-cut answer like mathematical formula. I had to fight my inner demons of doubts, uncertainty, fear and loneliness alone.
But then, I didn’t mind being lonely, facing difficulties or having to work hard to overcome challenges. What I could not stand was, giving up hope, the belief for a bigger, larger world than the earth plane; mystical and transcendental place that exists beyond this mundane plane; in where lights, goodness, peace, and selfless love are all abundant. I could not let the ugliness that I see in people and the world to overshadow my inner belief, and that life is somehow meant to be more beautiful, precious and unique experiences than being the physical, sensual ones only.
Maybe I became a dreamer by reading too much story books. But then, I didn’t fancy becoming the princess in trouble but of the fairy who has the magic power to transform, not the damsel who waits to get rescued, but of the heroes and heroines whose courage and strength always outshine the evil powers. When I saw people who are lost, with no sense of purpose or direction, I always felt this insatiable urge to awaken them up. Whenever I saw their uncertain and confused look, I pondered myself how to clear the ‘cloud’ so that they can see more clearly of themselves and the directions. I wanted a magic wand and I found that. The magic wand with the power to awaken us from the slumbers of lifeless, helpless and mediocre dream in where we experience no life, energy and enthusiasm to strive on, but fear, tiredness, insecurity, pain and desperation… It is in each one of us; that I have realized through my dreamy journey.
What is the magic wand? The Purpose of Our Life! Then how do we know what our purpose is. The moment when you ask to yourself the very question “what is my life purpose?” is where you will find the answer. Pause a moment. Go within. In that silence, you can hear the echo of your question and can “see” the answer. The truth is that, there is no “purpose” in life except the one that we give it to it. Whatever purpose, reason we give to our life, our life delivers just that. Do you want to be rich or famous? Life will bring you that. Do you want to be the powerful and successful? You will be. But then, there are prices to pay. The price is your willingness to dream, your openness to explore another routes than what you are familiar with. Your life purpose will show you how to go about the rest.
Life is not just acquiring or becoming this and that. Living life is continuous process to experience, expand and grow with a vision toward higher aim; not some things that once you have it or reached to it, then, you can forget about it. Whether it be education, career, spouse, children, cars or houses, money… Underlying all that is the desire to be happy, to feel worthwhile, to be more wholesome and complete, materially as well as spiritually. What route do we choose to bring the satisfaction of our desires is up to us, up to our inherent inclination and innate talents.
It is we who give the permission to our life to live the dream, the purpose we decide on. The purpose we find in our heart, is the magic wand; it will bring all the necessary strength, energy, direction, resources and assistance as we take the first step of asking question to unfold our life purpose, our destiny to live the kinds of greater life that we choose to live. Instead of feeling late, sorry or regret for not having started earlier to dream on, why not you start now, to dream for more beauty, enchantment and wonder in the magic world of your purposeful life? It took me longer time to figure out this but I guarantee yours wouldn’t. I also guarantee that it is much easier and simpler than what you think.
To learn more, you can come to the talk on “A Wish-fulfilling Cow” on 18th April, 2.30pm to 4pm. Those who have missed the first one due to the Chingming, and those who came but want your loved ones to hear, most welcome to join again.
