How do I know my Life’s Mission and Purpose?

I am still young! I spend a lot of my life’s time sharing and listening to young people. Most of our conversations are centered around themes such as happiness, God, Success, the goal of life, how to be successful and how to discover one’s calling in life. The last of these is more common than others.  This particular post will simply make a remark on this question based on my own life experiences and also by tapping into the knowledge and experiences of others.

I believe in a loving and providential God! I believe that each human being is made in the image of God. God calls each man to live his life purposefully and meaningfully. Indeed, we all need to become aware of our personal calling. 

One’s life mission is the road that God chose for you to walk here on earth. It is simply known with the heart. They say ‘you know when you know’. It is that path which fills one with joy and satisfaction. It is that path which makes the world a better place for the whole of mankind.  It is the path of freedom and boundless possibility. It is the incomparable path of goodness and of God.

The challenge is not so much to walk the path but rather to know the path. Many of us lack the audacity to walk the path which is our very own. We encounter many hindrances which bury our personal calling so deeply to such an extent that it becomes invisible.

You can never follow a dream you never see.

You can never follow a star you cannot see.

You can not walk an invisible road.

Sometimes we don’t follow our personal calling because we are afraid that in the process we might end up losing those we love dearly. But, those who love us will always walk those roads with us at any cost.

Sometimes we are afraid of failing. We are afraid of the let-downs. Defeats and losses, we shall encounter. They are unquestionably unavoidable. We can be so good at learning from the whole experience of life. The old saying goes “fools never learn from neither their own mistakes or the mistakes of others, smart and intelligent people learn from their own mistakes but the wise people learn enough from the mistakes of other and thus avoid making their own.”

Follow your heart! God reaches out to us through us! Personal reflection, discernment and a heart open to the deep and silent voice within calling us to greatness, happiness and to service. That is the voice of God! There is an essential wisdom that lies in listening to your heart because “You are your deepest desires.” Mostly, God speaks best to you than he does through the mouths of  those who discourage and dishearten you with their words.

I will conclude with Paulo Coelho’s quotation of Oscar Wilde, “Each man kills the thing he loves.” Sometimes the mere possibility of getting what we want fills the soul of the ordinary person with guilt. We look around at all those who have failed to follow their calling and feel that we do not deserve to be there either. I too have known a lot of people who , when their personal calling was within their grasp made some ‘deliberate mistakes’ or simply walked away from their dream.

There is no need to walk away from what God is calling you to do for him and for the world. There is no sanctity in being the humble quitter. Believe and fight! Become the instrument of God! Help the world!

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Discovering the Good Life

Almost two months have already passed since I completed my undergraduate philosophical studies. As I took the morning walk, the eternal philosophical question popped up. A question about ethics - “what is the good life? I need not appeal to Aristotellian or Kantian treatises to answer such a personal matter. In the simplest possible terms, this question is about “right living.”

Stephen R. Covey, in the "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" has pointed out that most of the inspirational or motivational literature has been rather superficial. It was phony, shallow and superficial in the sense that it focused mostly on the creation of a ‘correct’ social image or reputation, quick fixes or techniques for a successful life. The literature appeared to solve human crises with pain-killers without addressing the core problems.

This became clear with catchy book titles such as ‘10 ways to win friends with a smile,’ ‘techniques for keeping a marriage,’ ‘techniques for acing an exam in a day.’ ‘7 perfect ways to influence people.’ All these approaches simply motivated people to use ‘techniques’ to get people to like them. Rather than focusing on helping people to develop lasting moral principles and a worthwhile way of life.

Caring for the whole self

The first step in becoming a successful human being and a master at right living is by taking care of the four basic dimensions of  human nature.

         

 Spirit

Contemporary culture does not value or take time to address what the Greek Philosophers termed ‘care for the soul’ as the primal and fundamental duty to the self. This is mainly due to the widespread popularity of atheism, materialism and secularism.

Yet, care for the soul is greatly tried to the concept of transcendence. This is the belief that normal or physical human experience can be surpassed and that beings which are not subject to the limitations of the material universe exist. I personally believe that all things have their source and ultimate end in God. Thus, God guarantees that we shall inevitably find meaning in our lives.

Body

Present-day culture always tries to find quick solutions to the ills of the body. We have progressed in our health care provisions and medical technology. We can treat almost any ailment with pills and surgery. For example, obesity and depression.

However, the basic approach should be on prevention of disease by living a lifestyle which is friendly to the body. For example, eating healthy foods, doing exercises and conducting one’s daily preoccupations in harmony with principles of a healthy lifestyle.

                                                        Mind

The ‘google-mindset’ is a virus which is destroying the minds of young and old people alike. It is the mindset of quick and already-made solutions to the questions and problems of life. It has brutally killed critical and reflective thinking simply because Google has all the answers.

However, with regard to the mind, the best approach is ‘read broadly and deeply and pursue continuous education. One ought to invest into one’s intellect by means of serious study, edification and education. The lazy lifestyle of an uncritical and unreflective human being is an insult to one’s very nature as a ‘zoon logikon’ that is, rational animal.

4.      Heart

Modern culture perceives relationships as a mere means to the attainment of one’s personal, selfish and individualistic happiness. This has led to abuse in relationships.

However, deep and meaningful care of the heart is simply about love and care for the other in their entirety. Meaningful living and loving is based on respectful listening and selfless self-giving. A loving heart brings the greatest fulfillment and joy to the heart of man.

Conclusion

Right Living is a constant struggle.  It is a fight to care for the soul, the body, the mind and the heart. However, it is always a worthwhile battle and always brings beautiful fruits of a good, happy and fulfilled human existence. One ought to avoid the quick techniques and roads to success and instead place one’s effort on becoming a better person daily by means of right choices.

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