One of the main obstacles that we are faced with today is determining the meaning and the purpose of our lives when ultimately life in of itself has no meaning and/or purpose to it.
Rather than looking for external or divine mechanisms to determine the meaning and purpose of life we should all be looking into ourselves and ultimately be guided by what we find as the means in which we determine the meaning and purpose of life that we all seek.
So the first question we ask of ourselves is this… “How do I look inside myself to find the answers that I seek?”
The answer is simple. Mindfulness and meditation.
Mindfulness allows us all to become acutely aware of the who, what, when, where, why and how of us both as an individual and as a global citizen.
One of the best ways to record these observations of awareness is through daily journaling, allowing yourself to unlock and set free what has been dormant and locked inside your mind for the longest time.
Meditation allows us to create the right environment for awareness to thrive and flourish.
By sitting and being silent, allowing thoughts to pass through us like clouds, the internal chatter that is constantly with us in our day to day lives will eventually step to one side (and in some cases cease to be) and this gives way to the deeper awareness and understanding that we seek.
This is called “getting out of your own way.”
Once we start to gain some sort of awareness and perspective of the who, what, when, where, why and how of ourselves, we can then start creating the possibilities, goals, directions and ideas of what our meaning and purpose(s) in life might look like.
Bear in mind, don’t become attached to what you might find as it’s not meant to be set in concrete, but malleable and flexible.
The possibilities of our meaning and purpose are endless and in the initial stages of discovery there are no right or wrong answers to the question… “What is my meaning and purpose in life?”
The third part of the equation following mindfulness and meditation is taking action.
While creating a list of these potential possibilities is an essential beginning of this process, it is just that, a beginning. Most people (me included for a long time) don’t advance from the list creation stage because they are too afraid of taking direct action to turn those possibilities into reality.
Yes, taking action of this nature requires a leap of faith but through your own internal journey you would’ve discovered that you can trust yourself to be resilient, resourceful and more than capable enough to know the right choices you need to make.
So, don’t be afraid, you’ve got this.
Most people go through life directionless and without purpose like a boat without a rudder, drifting aimlessly waiting for the current to take them to who knows where and while allowing life to happen to you is a great way to practise being in the moment, it is far more skilful if you have your own derived meaning and purpose behind it.
Knowing your meaning and purpose gives you a foundation to build the life that you want to live so you can then become the change that you want to see in the world. This is an example of taking care of our own backyard first before making any changes to others.
Do you know what your meaning and purpose in life is as yet? Or, are you still searching, looking within yourself to find the answers you seek? Let me know what you have found or what you are doing to seek the answers. I’d love to hear from you.
