Purpose and Path

I posted this elsewhere today and offer it here again with some edits…

I believe that anyone who searches too hard for purpose is struggling with fear…fear that has something to do with recognizing and acknowledging their true purpose. I empathize with the journey. I’ve felt what the seekers are feeling, and I didn’t feel any better until I began to understand the role of fear in keeping me off the path. Too much thinking created noise, and the noise gave my fear a place to hide. When I found it, I grabbed hold and didn’t let it go. I embraced my fear and learned to love myself in spite of that fear. I found my footing and my way back to the path. It wasn’t until someone reminded me that I had to go back to the place of stillness within and stop THINKING SO MUCH that I can say that I recognized that I was once again on the path.

I believe that the harder we churn, the more likely that we are working off nervous energy or fear or abject terror. Doing anything and everything keeps us from doing the one thing we should be doing. And the most important “one thing” we should be doing is attuning ourselves to our life’s purpose. Until we understand that, no matter how much we produce and how great the things we produce might be, they will never fill that gaping hole, fulfill that insatiable void, inside of us.

I believe in shipping; in drawing lines in the sand and challenging ourselves to meet our own deadlines. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the concept of shipping as Seth Godin describes it is essential to not stagnating. I just believe that what I ship should align with my desire and intent for my life. Purpose? Sure, I’m still searching for a connection to a greater purpose, but I recognize that the search is internal. The longest distances, the greatest depths, and the most astonishing heights are all part of the journey, and that journey exists almost entirely within me. I know inside is where I will find purpose.

Wherever your feet are is exactly where they are meant to be. The path follows you wherever you go. It’s a matter of aligning the path to the calling. That is how I would define “purpose.”

Or, perhaps, it isn’t a path as much as it is a stream…