This post is dedicated to my friend Diane Lamas, who passed away on July 30, 2014. Another sweet angel is looking over me now.
“When you’re serious, determined and on purpose, magical shit happens.” Torrie M. Pattillo
When I read this quote a few weeks ago a light bulb went off. On purpose. The 46 year old definition I knew was something like, to do something because you mean to. And this definition wasn’t always a happy one. Like when one kid accuses the other, “You did that ON PURPOSE!” And in their realization of that, is psychologically crushed that the other would mean to be mean. In other words, you meant to do that. You intended to do that. You had a purpose when you did that, and that purpose wasn’t nice.
My light bulb moment went something like this…To be on purpose means that what you are doing/saying/creating/making is being done with your life’s purpose in mind. Ah, don’t you love that? I had to let this sink in. When I speak, or act, or create, or help, or decide, or respond, if I have my life’s purpose in mind, and what serves that greater purpose, then I am being ON PURPOSE. I am on my purpose, on task, my actions are on purpose, and my words are in tune with my purpose.
Okay, maybe this is not new news to you. Maybe some of you have understood this definition of on purpose for a long time. Or maybe this is a light bulb for you too. We can be on purpose out of fear, or we can be on purpose out of love and what serves our mission in life.
I have learned that for me, being on purpose is a felt sense. This has taken practice and discipline. Feeling when you are on purpose and keeping yourself there, is, well, challenging at best. Disciplined awareness is a moment by moment practice. Something always seems to be interrupting that divine flow. I don’t like using the word ego, but many describe the thing that gets in the way with that label. I like to call my ego out by giving her a name. If you would like to read more about naming your dragon, click HERE.
Feeling when you are on purpose, and living from there, is loads of fun, but first you have to know what your purpose is, what you want, what you stand for, and what your passions are. If you are one of those people who isn’t sure of those things, I highly recommend you stop right here and make a list on a piece of paper (or your Warrior Love journal!) of all of the things that you LOVE, that light you up, that make you smile, that make you get out of bed without the alarm. Make as long of a list as you can. And then add to that list all of the things you can think of that you are grateful for. Damn, this is quite a list, right? Love this list! Puppies are on my list. And kicking, trees, writing, my kids, laughter, …oh my, don’t get me started, this whole blog will be a list.
Once you know what your purpose is, you can be on it, by being awake to that purpose as often as possible. ON PURPOSE. You do that by putting your attention and focus on the things on your list, every day. You find out about the ones that you are most passionate about, the ones you would do for work for no money, and then you find a way to do it, with baby steps or giant leaps, every day. You pave that passion path with tiny pebbles, or huge boulders every day. Talk about it to your friends, write about it in your blog, share your ideas with the people who celebrate all of your crazy ideas. Be on purpose every day, at least a little bit. Don’t keep this shit to yourself! SHARE yourself. AS soon as your ideas are out of your head and into the world, you suddenly become accountable for them. And don’t worry, you are allowed to change your mind. In fact, speaking your ideas to the world (or a BFF) is one way to figure out if THAT is really your purpose. Try them on for size. See if it is true. And move on if it is not.
Most of all, EXPECT the magical shit to happen, because it will, if you remain on purpose. When you live from there, you are letting your soul speak, and the magic is inevitable.
