Are You Following Your Purpose?
Last September, I circled back in my head to a question I revisit every few months — Am I following my purpose?
I’d always imagined finding your purpose to be like a nuclear fusion that creates a star within you. Once formed, your entire being revolves around it, drawing warmth and energy from it. It brings you to life and sustains your living.
But when I sat down with that question and retraced my journey, I changed my mind.
I realized that purpose is quite ordinary. From its discovery to its keep, there’s nothing overwhelming about it.
You stumble upon it while doing your fifth-grade homework. You find it while picking out groceries at the supermarket. You hear its call while looking at a stranger buy the red dress from that expensive store you window shop at. You decide on it choking mid-snort while sobbing over a broken heart.
You can find purpose tucked away in sheets of sustenance. I promise you that it’s still legitimate enough to permanently earmark. Fold its flesh into your life and staple it through every moment you will breathe into.
But know that even when you find it, it won’t always roar. It won’t always be decisive. It won’t always be a victory lap for your drive to sprint across.
It’ll whisper. It’ll take a siesta. It’ll even hibernate. I’m learning not to worry whether it’s left me. It won’t ever leave.
I’m learning to silence the voice of fear that asks me if I’m following my purpose because it isn’t something I need to follow. No matter where I go, I carry it within me.
You cannot lose your purpose. It isn’t a hungry beast that will walk out on you for someone with more to give. It’s yours and only yours to honour whenever you are ready, however you choose to.
I now see that purpose can sometimes be gritty and there are days you won’t have the grit. On those days, purpose is irrelevant. Purpose is vast and sometimes your vision is tired and narrow. On those days, purpose is less focus and more faith.
There will be days you dance around it and not with it. There will be days you walk in and out of it without acknowledging it.
I’m learning to silence the voice of fear that asks me if I’m following my purpose because it isn’t something I need to follow. No matter where I go, I carry it within me. No matter what I do, I carry it within me. My purpose belongs to me, and I to it.
