Purpose

Recently, I was asked the question in regards to purpose; it was stated in terms of how can we articulate purpose in a way to where it doesn't come off as too vague of an answer, especially when posed to children. It brought me back to a time when I would hear my baseball coaches tell me to "stay balanced" or "stay back" in teaching me how to hit. I would have conversations with friends about what does it really mean when we say "stay back"; or better yet, how do we really show these young athletes what we mean from our baseball philosophies? We concluded that a lot of coaches themselves didn't understand how to explain certain philosophies, though they exerted confidence in verbalizing them.

So, when we talk about purpose, how would I articulate it? First off, I believe there are two forms of purpose, the unknown and the known. The unknown is the Divine; the purpose set out by our Creator (that even though we question, we will never know or understand). The known is the one we have control over; the one we set in place.

In the search of finding purpose in our lives, we tend to ask the why and what; and oftentimes these questions are posed looking upwards. But, in dealing with the known, these questions must be asked inwardly. Why do I do what I do? What do I want my life to mean? Afterall, isn't that what we want in our lives? Meaning.

Personally, I would ask myself why do I do the things that I do, and I concluded that it is because I want to impact lives and change the world; so, I center my life and activities around many things that give me reason to keep pushing in that area. It becomes a motivating factor. After answering that question, I defined my purpose whereas my why, then, became my what, and that became what I wanted my life to mean- IMPACT. So, ultimately, it ends up becoming something that keeps you pushing no matter what, because when something has meaning, it gives you reason to persevere.

We have no control over the ultimate plan, but we have an input in our own walk. Though we may ask for meaning upwardly, we can define meaning inwardly; and if it is in accordance to His plan it will feel right.

God Bless