What is your life purpose, your passion? Last Saturday morning, I had a wake-up call, a deep reminder of how important it is to feel a sense of purpose.
I have been presenting seminars in corporations and schools for many years, talking to audiences about the importance of having a reason to live, something that gives our very existence a great deal of importance.
I feel sure that the fundamental reason for this human existence is for the evolution of our spirit, to grow, gain wisdom by traveling an uncertain path. Stepping into places where we create uncertainty allows us to experience a vulnerability that renders the mind quite useless and compels us to connect with the deep wisdom of our intuition, of higher self. These times can reveal our most unique talents.
People we meet who are on purpose, on a mission, seem to have little attention on petty things. They seem to have a greater ability to commit, find life exciting and always seem to be on the move.
Those who have not connected with a mission often seem to be most concerned with personal comfort and security, weighed down by their struggles with the universe around them, unable to find peace.
I have no doubt that humanity is evolving. Technology alone says we are taking giant leaps. However, we still struggle in the areas of kindness, care for others, anger, hatred and conflict. We can get better.
Simply going through the motions, living day to day, disconnected from any bigger vision, we become trapped in daily life. We create struggles in our relationships, become fixated on unimportant things, tend to over indulge in things that comfort us, waste time on meaningless activities and start looking around for someone to notice us. We create worry.
In finding purpose, our attention turns outward and we start to think of how we can help others. We see those who need help and those who need to help themselves. We see a bigger picture and keep moving forward because we have our attention on something bigger than ourselves. Life gets exciting, sleep improves and people want to jump on board.
Those times when we take our eye off the goal, we can get lost in what is going on around us. We've all seen the runner making a fatal mistake, taking their eye off the finish line to look around for the other competitors only to get over-run in the last few strides.
So what is your mission? It does not really matter what it is. If you are not sure if it is a true life purpose, ask yourself a simple question. "Will my passion make life better for anyone else?" If the answer is yes, you are probably on the right track.
So back to Saturday morning. I went to visit my nephew Geoff who is a patient in a rehabilitation facility for people with Acquired Brain Injury. Back in early May, he was helping out with the clean-up at the tail end of a music festival when an aneurysm in his brain ruptured and he collapsed to the ground fully unconscious. He remained that way, in a coma, for 13 days, and very few of us thought he would make it. The bleed was deep and ongoing.
Geoff has lived a challenging existence. He is profoundly dyslexic and never found school to be an enjoyable experience. Through life he has gotten himself into some trouble, struggled to find stable work and indulged heavily in drugs and alcohol. There have been times when he has given his parents a great deal of heartache, and as he lay there motionless in his hospital bed, they prepared themselves for the worst.
Geoff with his faithful 15-year-old dog and mate, Brodie.
But there is a side of Geoff that very few knew, least of all his extended family. For some time Geoff has been part of a community that many would call hippie. Living very much an "alternative" lifestyle, he resided in the bush with some friends and did various things. After his accident, his dad started to get to know Geoff's community and he learned some incredible things about how highly his son is regarded.
Geoff is considered to be a talented chef, a gifted teacher and a wonderful entertainer. He is highly skilled in fire twirling. Perhaps these things don't draw much praise in the community in which I or my siblings live, but Geoff lives in a world where he is known for his kindness and his enthusiasm for giving people a hand. He is in his 30s, but he had found his niche.
But there was this incredible chasm, a disconnection, between his life and that of his family. Somehow, bringing them all together would create understanding, new friendships and a great deal of joy.
As time rolled forward from his collapse, Geoff finally began to give his family hope as he continued to slowly improve. Now at the rehab facility, still with a large part of his skull missing (it will be replaced at some point), Geoff progresses forward. When I greeted him I leaned over and gave him a kiss on the forehead, and as I stood back up he put his hand out to shake.
I took his hand and he squeezed it tight. When he was a young fella I always told him that when you shake hands, give a firm grip and look the person in the eye and connect. Today, he gave my hand a huge squeeze and looked deep into my being. I realized something and commented on what a great handshake it was. He smiled at me with pride and I realised right then that Geoff is far from finished this life. In fact, he is just getting started.
As I sat and spoke with him and my sister, he showed his resolve to get his life back on track, for himself and for the peace of his family. Perhaps Geoff has a new mission of his own, and it is a big one. Even in his disabled state, he still wants to help others.
I often say to seminar attendees to go out and find a good challenge "before one comes and finds you." Well, it looks like a challenge found Geoff and he has grabbed hold of it with his one good hand and he is not letting go. I've never seen him more alive.
And in doing so he has helped all of us to understand more, explore our judgments and to learn to see beyond what is obvious and look for the good. His closeness to his parents that seemed to be amiss before is now truly palpable.
Sometimes the greatness of this life fills me with awe. Go Geoff!