Tip # 5:
“Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in. Its thin current slides away, but eternity remains.”
Henry David Thoreau
When one engages in that which one loves, time stands still, or you can say “life is timeless.” Finding one’s purpose in life is essential to becoming a joyful, as well as, fulfilled person. Each person was born for a purpose – a vocation – a calling. Generally speaking this purpose is aligned with becoming happy. When one discovers this calling, life ceases to be burdensome. For the most part, life turns into bliss, regardless of whatever obstacles or trials, or so-called difficulties one encounters. But here’s the real secret: This purpose – this calling – is whatever we say it is. There is no cosmic slate that has written on it your particular purpose. And so we don’t have to flounder or struggle all of our life searching, wondering and fretting as to what it exactly is we are supposed to be doing. There are clues. These clues are all over the place. They can and do lead us to the right place. We have to be open to seeing these clues. To start, we can ask ourselves, What is it that brings me joy? to reflect on, and then see where this line of thinking takes you. We are each born into a life, into a family, and a setting of both history and location, that sets us up with all sorts of obstacles, as well as, avenues. The avenues are sweet; but so can the obstacles be sweet – although most of the time we don’t see them that way. Not that we would ask for them, but the obstacles, and avenues, can provide us with potentially a clear direction. Consider a person born into a family where a sibling has mental retardation or some significant disability. It isn’t at all surprising to find this person, years later, in special education with a deep passion for helping people with special needs. We see countless cases of people getting their direction – their purpose – from circumstances of their earlier life. There is wisdom in the notion about finding what you love, and finding a way to get paid for this. “Love what you do; do what you live.”