My Purpose Doesn't Make Me Cry

[mercuryrising]

I understand Steve's idea here with the finding your purpose exercise, but I don't find crying (or an emotional response) to be the litmus test for one's real purpose.

I like the idea of listing answers out because it makes me dig below all the conditioned responses I might give to such a question. But finding the authentic answer (for me at least) is based on what feels right and not necessarily what causes me to weep.

One of my favorite answers was, "turning garbage into flowers". This didn't make me cry, but it did fit.

What are your thoughts?

[seeker5]

Did you find your purpose? If so, want to share it? You mentioned one of your favorites, but you didn't mention what you found your purpose to be.

[Gratitude Magic]

I feel warm and expansive when I think of (or, more accurately, hold in my mind) my life purpose. Like the daily grinds hardly matter any more, and I feel glorious with the sense that it connects me to something much larger.

BTW it took me long time to clearly realize my purpose, but I am happy about it.

[mercuryrising]

Well, thank you for asking, seeker5. My purpose is something I know, but I haven't been able to put into a sentence. It's not that I lack the definition, but that the definition goes deeper than I can express. I believe that is true for all of us. We each know our purpose here-- it is the essence of who we are-- really, we're just looking for a way to reveal it to ourselves.



And Gratitude Magic, ironically, I visited your site not long ago. I think you have a good thing going and I'll be back for more ;D

[Rockchick26]

I think i might have this all wrong. To me,a life's purpose is a career or a specific job. But all the replies i've seen on these message boards has been something completely different,more like a way to live their life,or a way they want to treat people,or a simple act. I thought this was about the job you are supposed to have? Am i getting the total wrong idea about "life's purpose"?

[Trezker]

A job or career is just a way to express your purpose, NOT the purpose itself.

[mercuryrising]

I agree with the post above: it is one area, but not the overall statement of why you are here. It's a clue. Einstein worked as a clerk in a patent office: that has something to do with new ideas, which is what Einstein was famous for. Vonnegut wrote advertising for GE and wrote Slaughterhouse 5 on the side. Allen Ginsberg was also in advertising, but we remember him for his poetry.

I work as a machinist, but I feel something larger on the horizon. It has to do with machining, but I don't quite know what just yet.

[missing]

I tend to agree with mercury rising. When I was going the "crying route" I found the waters getting muddied up in terms of figuring out how to express my "purpose". Not that I was necessarily wrong about it, but I was just too overwhelmed. I found it better for me to "tone it down" emotionally when thinking of this stuff, so I can better come up with practical applications. Of course for a while I was toying with the idea of being a "lightworker"; that was way too overwhelming. This was around the same time.

I kind of still understand the feeling of "wholeness" one gets when thinking of their purpose. But it doesn't have to involve crying and for me anyway I don't think should.

[Amandaaa]

But finding the authentic answer (for me at least) is based on what feels right and not necessarily what causes me to weep.

^Same here.

I don't think you have to cry for something to be deeply moving...

[Eric Revelin]

An emotional response is a good general litmus test but it's not going to work well for everybody. There's no one-size-fits-all solution for finding your purpose or living it. That's where your own individuality and creativity come into play. What's more important than any emotional response is that it feels right, like you're being genuine to yourself. That doesn't necessarily fall within the realm of defined emotions but there's absolutely no denying your purpose once you've felt it.

[DayInTheLife]

I think Steve's "find your purpose in 20 minutes" is a great exercise for discovering some things that are important to you, but I would never advise trying to distill your purpose in life down to a phrase, no matter how touching or poetic it may be.

Words are approximations, and therefore can never be accurate in an absolute sense. No grouping of words can represent your purpose. It is something that must be understood purely through intuition; it is beyond words and beyond thought. The moment you substitute a phrase for this understanding, you have conceptualized it and thus made it into something else.

I would avoid using words to define your purpose. English words are beautiful, subtle instruments, but they are still far too blunt and subjective for this task. Words can point to your purpose, but they cannot define it.