Purpose-Full

When I was 29, I went to a soul reader.

I didn’t know what this even was at the time. 

But friends had seen this woman before—and they said it was a life-changing experience for them. 

The woman was not going to read my palms, or my future. This wasn’t like going to a fortune teller. Instead, she was focused on connecting to my soul purpose and identifying aspects of my personality that could help me get closer to that purpose.

She was a spiritual intuitive.

It sounded intriguing.

We sat across from each other on cushioned chairs in a small office. I told her my full name, which she hadn’t had before that moment. She said we would hold hands to make an energetic connection, say a prayer, and then we would start. 

We held hands for about two minutes. As she said a small prayer, asking for clear guidance from my guides and teachers, I could feel myself vibrating with anticipation. And fear. 

What was this woman going to tell me?

She dropped her hands. 

The first thing she said was, “So, what’s up with the writing?”

I laughed.

Nervously.

What? How did she know about that? I hadn’t written anything creative outside of things for work in about 10 years. 

I remember the tremble in my voice as I said, “Well, I’m not doing much of it these days.” 

I was 29, helping launch a book publishing business at a small publisher, and I had a one-year-old son. I barely knew how to get out the door in the morning, let alone how to find time to sit down and write.

“It has always been there,” I added.

Then, it was her turn to laugh. 

She said, quite declaratively, “Well, it’s part of your soul purpose. Writing. Teaching. Writing about teaching. Teaching about writing. There’s such a connection between those two that it’s as if there’s a slash between the two.”

This woman didn’t know I had been writing poems since I was in grade school. That I had my first one published in Children’s Digest when I was 10. That I had won the Edith Bird Bass Essay contest when I was in high school. That I graduated from UNH’s English Honors program focused on writing.

But it was the first time in my life that anyone had whispered in my ear, “This is your soul purpose, remember? This is what you are here to do!”

In other words, stop mucking around and getting distracted by other things in life. Get back at it.

Has anyone ever done that for you? Has a friend or family member repeatedly whispered in your ear, “This is clearly your thing! Maybe this is your reason for being on this planet?”

Perhaps you already know what your life purpose is. 

But maybe you don’t. 

Maybe you have wondered about your life purpose for a while. Why are you here on this planet? What are you meant to do?

It sometimes feels quite elusive, something that is there but is somehow always escaping you.

Adam Leipzig suggested in a Ted Talk a while back that identifying your life purpose takes a few questions:

·         Who are you?

·         What do you do (in other words, what is one thing right now you feel supremely qualified to teach other people)? 

·         Who do you do it for?

·         What do those people want and need?

·         How do those people change as a result of what you give them?

I know that when I answer those questions, it's a few things.

I believe that life purpose does not need to be just one thing. It could be several. In my case, writing is part of it. Coaching is part of it. Working with non-profits is part of it.  

But interesting—all together, my work can be seen in another way as teaching—and writing. 

When I am on purpose, I lose track of time. I go into a Zone—a place where I feel incredible alignment, resonance, and time disappears.

When are you most in the flow? 

What are you supremely qualified to teach other people?

It could be how to paint. It could be how to work with numbers. It could be managing projects. It could be making people look good. It could be healing people. It could be about music.

A good friend of mine started a radio show recently. He has always been amazing at putting together play lists. And now, he gets to do that in The Cover Game every Monday night at 5 pm on WNHN. It’s a weekly exploration of cover songs across genres and time.

It’s amazing.

And it brings him great joy.

One hour a week.

He does other things at other times—but it's clear that something about this is related to his purpose.

What’s yours? If someone could hold your hands right now and tap into what brings you great meaning and satisfaction, what is that?

In my case, that moment was a turning point—a reconnection to writing. Within a year, I met another writer, who would become my BFF for 30 years—and together we started a writer’s group. That group met for several years and helped me get some momentum going. I joined The NH Writers’ Project and started going to workshops every summer.

I later graduated with my Master's of Fine Arts in Poetry.

And here I am, today, writing this—for you.

It has been an incredible ride—which I can promise always is when you connect to your life purpose.

What are you longing to do more of?

What is whispering in your ear?

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