Welcome!
Today we will talk a little bit about finding our purpose in life.
There comes a time,
Or maybe many times,
When we stop and ask ourselves a question that echoes quietly beneath the noise of everyday life.
What are we really here for?
What are our purpose?
It's a question that can leave fast and even intimidating feelings.
But it is also deeply human.
We are meaning-making beings.
We don't just want to live.
We want to matter.
We want to feel that our time,
Our energy,
Our presence,
And our struggles are not just random events strung together,
But part of something larger,
Something with depth and direction.
But the truth is,
Purpose isn't always a bolt of lightning or a dramatic revelation.
It may not arrive on a mountaintop or in a single life-changing moment.
More often,
Purpose unfolds slowly,
Like a sunrise,
Revealing itself in pieces as we live,
Make mistakes,
Love,
Lose,
Reflect,
And begin again.
We may spend years chasing a version of purpose that was handed to us by others,
Through family,
School,
Culture,
Or society.
The idea that we must be productive,
Successful,
Admired.
But eventually,
Many of us reach a point when we begin to wonder is this really my purpose or just someone else's expectations?
And when that moment comes,
When the old definition no longer fits,
We may feel lost.
But what we don't realize in that moment is that that loss may actually be an opening.
Losing certainty can create the space we need for clarity.
What if we began to understand purpose not as a final destination to reach,
But as a direction we choose again and again?
Not a fixed identity,
But a set of values that guide how we live.
In this light,
Purpose becomes less about what we will do and more about why we do it.
It may not be one singular thing we're meant to achieve,
But a thread of meaning we follow through different seasons of life.
We may find that purpose is something that grows with us.
It may show up in questions we keep returning to,
In the causes we feel drawn to,
In the moments when we feel fully alive,
Or even in the quiet act of care no one sees.
Some of us may find purpose in creating,
Building,
Or exploring.
Others may find it in healing,
Teaching,
Or simply being present with others.
Some may discover it in movement and others in stillness.
And often we may find it's not through thinking our way towards it,
But by living our way into it.
To find purpose,
We may need to slow down enough to listen.
Not just to the voices around us,
But to the ones within us.
What brings peace even in chaos?
What challenges us in a way that feels meaningful,
Not just exhausting?
What are we willing to struggle for,
Not because we have to,
But because something in us says this matters?
We may also find blues in our pain,
The hardships we faced,
The injustice we've witnessed,
Or the healing we long for,
May shape what we feel called to offer the world.
Sometimes our wounds can become windows to a deeper sense of purpose,
That is,
If we're open to that transformation.
Still,
It's okay if we don't have a clear answer.
There is wisdom in uncertainty.
Purpose doesn't always announce itself with clarity.
Sometimes it shows up quietly in the things we keep coming back to,
Even when no one is asking us to.
We don't need to wait for something big to live with purpose.
We can live purposefully in the ordinary.
In the way we listen deeply to someone who is struggling.
In the care we bring to our work,
Even when it's unnoticed.
In the decision to act with integrity when no one else is watching.
In the courage to be honest with ourselves when something isn't working anymore.
Purpose can be woven into the mundane,
In how we raise children,
How we show up for friends,
How we respond to challenge.
It may not always be glamorous,
But it can be real,
And real things last.
We're not meant to have one singular purpose for our entire lives.
We are dynamic beings shaped by experience.
And as we grow,
What matters to us may change.
The purpose that once fit us perfectly may become too small or too heavy.
And we may need to let it go.
That doesn't mean that we have failed.
It means we're alive.
It means we're paying attention.
We may give ourselves permission to evolve,
To let go of what no longer serves us.
To ask new questions,
To try new paths,
To risk being beginner again.
And in doing so,
We may find a deeper sense of alignment with who we are today.
Not who we were,
Or who we were told to be.
While finding purpose can be a deeply personal journey,
It's not a solitary one.
We may discover parts of our purpose in community,
Through collaboration,
Love,
Service,
Being part of something larger than ourselves.
Sometimes,
We don't need to find our purpose alone.
We just need to be around people who remind us of what matters.
People who see us clearly.
People who inspire us,
Not just with their words,
But with the way they live.
When we support each other in living more authentically,
When we create space for each other to grow without judgment,
And when we choose to connect over comparison,
We build a culture where purpose isn't a prize to win,
But a path we walk together.
So as this talk comes to a close,
I would like to leave you with these final reflections.
Maybe we don't need to find our purpose as much as we need to notice it.
To let it emerge in our actions,
Our values,
And relationships.
To keep listening.
To keep asking.
To keep living the question,
Even when the answers feel far away.
Because maybe purpose isn't something we arrive at one day with a sense of finality.
Maybe it's something we carry with us.
Something we shape and reshape.
Every time we choose meaning over motion.
Depth over distraction.
And authenticity over approval.
And maybe,
Just maybe,
The search itself,
The living,
The asking,
The trying again,
Is part of the purpose too.
Thank you for listening today.
Namaste.
