Ever wish your Fairy Godmother would float down from the sky with her sparkles and magic wand and grant you the knowledge of your life’s purpose? I did, for a really long time. I wanted confirmation. I was afraid I was missing the mark, and I didn’t want to waste time. If I was meant to be doing something else with my life, then why oh why did it seem so difficult to really know that? You would think that God, if She did in fact have a purpose for us, would want us to know right away, so that we could get to the business of it.
Here is where things get tricky. There are probably many people you know who would tell you they know what they are meant to do and be in the world. They sail through their life, driven with purpose and meaning and there doesn’t seem to be any doubt in their mind. This is cool. It makes us think that this purpose thing is real.
Then, there are the souls who wander on the path. They seem lost. They don’t like who they are or what they do, and they feel stuck. They don’t know what their purpose is and they don’t know how to find it. Bummer. This makes us doubt and wonder if purpose and meaning are really true things to quest for, or if we should just settle with the circumstances we seem to have been given and stop complaining.
There are also people who are in between. They feel purpose in what they do, but there is something still missing from it. They are beginning to realize that what they thought they were supposed to do with their life isn’t giving them the fulfillment they thought would come with it. They are being pulled in another direction that lights them up. They are afraid of making a change. They feel the tug of purpose and meaning, and feel themselves being pulled in that direction, but the risk of the change has them wondering what to do, and afraid of not knowing who they are in the world.
Cue Fairy Godmother. Please, Fairy Godmother, come float down here a bit and tap that little star on top of my head. Shower me with those golden sparkles and make me know for sure that what seems to fill me up with love and light and passion, is the thing I was meant to do and be and to share. Please make me know without a doubt that the risks that I am about to take are worth my efforts and stress. That even if I have to fail before I succeed, I will know I am meant to keep trying.
Oh, that would be so nice, wouldn’t it?
My friend Jim Phillips, author of The Key To Life, Living In Full Expression told me something the other day that had me realizing that I have had my own magic wand all this time. He said that if I was truly inspired to share something with the world, then the inspiration itself was grounds for it’s worth and meaning. I heard the little twinkly noise of the golden sparkles showering themselves around me when I heard that.
Another way to put this is, we give the meaning and purpose to our lives. There is no particular magical predetermined meaning in what we do or who we are, except that which we bestow on ourselves. When I am inspired to share a poem about awareness, or write a blog about healing, or write a book about my childhood experiences, the simple fact that I let that inspiration move me to share is purpose enough. Jim would say that it is the act of expressing myself that is what matters.
So rather than wishing for your fairy godmother to grant you the knowledge of the purpose of your life, why don’t you sit for a while and think about what gives you illegal amounts of happiness. Imagine the things that you get so fired up about life that you can’t help but share them with your friends. In doing so you will be tapping that wand on your own head and showering yourself with those magic golden sparkles. You will know it is meant to be if you are inspired to do it, share it or be it.
The next wish you might be thinking about is how to get over the fear of making the shift to doing the thing you love to do, once you know what that is. We will have to get out a bigger wand for that. Stay tuned.
In the mean time, part of my own purpose is to inspire you to recognize your own gifts and motivate you to do what you need to do to make the shifts you want to make in your own life. Bodyworks Physical Therapy and Healing Seminars presents the Healing Moves Workshop, where we will explore and integrate mind, body and soul in a day that will leave you excited about your life and the possibilities that await you. I will be taking the keys to healing I’ve learned from my twenty years as a physical therapist and teaming up with a powerhouse line up of expert local practitioners to bring you a holistic, empowering approach to health, wellness, and happiness that is long overdue.
Don’t miss my announcements about these workshops – you can sign up for my monthly email newsletter at the top of the page by clicking ‘subscribe.’ The first Healing Moves Workshop will be March 15, 2015 and will be located in Bethesda, Maryland. Formal registration will open in the end of January. You can email me for details and request to be put on a pre-registration waiting list to reserve your spot. This workshop will sell out, so don’t wait, get on that list now! Email me at bodyworkspt@comcast.net
Until then, get out your own magic wand. Tap it on your head. And get to the business of sharing your inspired gifts with us. We are waiting!
