Purpose (vw)

Carol, thanks for your concise and descriptive post; I think we’re off to a good start and I hope it gets easier to post as we move along. I hear two major themes when you speak about your life experiences as they relate to our blog and our journey together: defining our purpose and nurturing community. Both are lifetime challenges but today I’m drawn to the subject of purpose.

  I’ve met individuals that always seemed confident in their direction (purpose) and I envy their self-assurance. On reflection, it seems that purpose throughout my life originated basically from responsibility, i.e., from where I was at, specific to time, place, and company. Now I’ve lost this active stream of responsibility which carried me along through life’s give and take. Here I am at a crossroads of ageing and a general implosion of my life as I knew it.

 I am presented with a whole new scenario.

On one hand, I feel very alone, with a lack of self-confidence to degrees I never even imagined before. I understand now that I didn’t realize how much the support and assurance of family fortified me. Purpose? What could be the purpose for outliving my old life? What gifts do I have to offer? We’ve listed Ilchi Lee’s book, I’ve decided to live 120 Years among our favorites. If I’m planning to fill the rest of my days with purpose, that means I have 40 more years to work on it! Seems like a life time! What a different perspective this lends on those years looming ahead!

On the other hand, though defining my purpose seems a daunting task, I must admit that I am enjoying a sense of freedom that’s a new experience for me. I have more time for reflection on where my life is going, could go, and the significant changes I should be preparing to meet. And how exciting to think of the books I haven’t read, the thoughts I haven’t thought and planning for a new adventure. (You know I love to plan). Ironically, I have more time to invest more quality into fewer years ahead.  This time is a gift.