I thought only rare and special people find their purpose in life. I am here to tell you that's not the case! All of us have a true purpose but many of us don't believe it until a trigger urges us to search for it. Something happens to shake us, or make us doubt that waking up to do the same thing tomorrow might not be right. For some, a dramatic event shifts our thinking and change begins immediately. For others, an inner voice nags at us until we pay attention and dare to listen, dare to make that first change. More and more, people are beginning to look for their true purpose in life. I can tell you, your life changes when you find it. You can't imagine what will happen.
Just as important as finding your purpose is where it leads you, who it touches, what it changes, and the larger effect it has on the greater good. Sometimes your purpose leads you to a place you could never imagine -- case in point -- pajamas. Sounds like a small thing initially, but it goes deeper than the cloth and that's what people "get." That's why we're here 12 years after I carried one plastic bag with a dozen pajamas to a children's safe house. And thank goodness for all the help all these years.
In the boxes of pajamas and books we send out every day at Pajama Program, we are packing comfort, compassion, affection, hope and a loving reminder to each child that she is not forgotten, that she belongs. The pajamas and books we give represent so much more than I ever imagined. They are universally acknowledged symbols of a tender bedtime experience the way it's supposed to be for every child. Each day ends the same way -- safely and peacefully. Tomorrows reliably bring bright new days -- anything is possible because love exists at the very start, every day. Pajamas, together with a story book, provide reassurance for a little one unsure of so many things, but certain that tomorrow when he wakes up he will not be alone.
Finding your purpose leads you to the truth about life. I found out it's not about the pajamas. It's about love.