"Lately I have been given a lot of thought to purpose. In the United States, whether we realize we are influenced by it or not, the ideal of achieving the American Dream looms over us and goads us into actions we might not otherwise have done. In fact, in most modernized societies, the pressure to go to college or university is immense, to the point that society as a whole tends to look down upon those who choose not to attend. By default, we are pigeonholed into the same loathsome category of those who simply cannot afford to attend, as if all of us, willing or unwilling, are now only capable of minimum wage service jobs such as fast food or janitorial work. The goal of course, of society and those within it, is to be wealthy. We are taught to set aside our dreams and simply strive for financial success, whether or not it provides us any pleasure. For those without the money or academic achievement to pursue schooling that leads to lucrative positions in business, politics or medicine, the pressure is even more intense. Adults of both sexes commit to working as hard as they can in as many jobs as they can get to try to climb the ladder of wealth and save for the hazy someday they imagine retirement to be, when at last they can rest and enjoy the activities they missed out on in the midst of the rat race. Unfortunately, by the time they reach retirement, if ever they do save enough to retire, they are usually too old, frail or infirm to pursue the activities they daydreamed about while they were grinding away at jobs they didn’t even enjoy.
"People are missing the point and the opportunity of life, and all too often they die with regrets over the things they could have done and didn’t because they were too busy chasing the almighty dollar.
"In the process of working themselves to the bone, they don’t start a family, or the family they have is neglected. The divorce rate is appallingly high, because all of that stress and division makes it impossible for intimacy on any level to bloom and thrive. Friendships fall by the wayside. Extended family grows old and dies with few memories to keep their spirit close. Relationships are less relational than ever and are merely ships that crash on the rocks of distance and sink time and again.
The phrases most often used are “I just don’t have the time” and “I just don’t have the money” and all too often “I just don’t trust anyone anymore.” The lack of trust is too often a result of abuse or misconduct, but it is also because in order to have any relationships at all, we fall into bonds that burn brightly for a moment and are snuffed out by neglect, leaving everyone with a sense of failure and betrayal and the idea that it’s better not to relate at all than to risk being burned. There is no energy left over after a day of grueling labor to work on relationships, and what should be the top priority gets put on the back burner for a less trying time that inevitably fails to arise.
We are living a life without purpose, working towards a goal that is ultimately hollow and unfulfilling. We leave behind little to no lasting impact, and our existences are, to be brutally honest, worthless and meaningless.
People who don’t believe in a god or gods or the divine in general often struggle to believe in purpose or calling, and all to often the believers feel as though purpose and calling are reserved for those who are more important than they are.
"But you exist. You are here. You are alive.
"Therefore, there is purpose.
"You have desires and dreams and talents.
"Therefore, there is purpose.
"There are needs to be met. There are suffering people in need of help. There is a world in chaos.
"Therefore, there is purpose.
"Being a waste of time and space and energy and resources is a choice. Either you get up and make something of yourself or you choose not to. Being wealthy isn’t going to help anyone if you have wasted all the time between commencement to retirement ignoring the needs of yourself and those around you to pursue wealth that will only fund an indefinite vacation where you will unplug and ignore the world until you die. THAT is a wasted life, no matter how many dollars you made in the process. You can’t take that money with you, and even if you bequeath it to someone, money is a hollow and valueless legacy. Even if the person receiving the money uses it to make an impact on the world, that is THEIR legacy, not yours and you will simply be a footnote in the story of THEIR success. Unless in the time it took you to make the money, you were living a purposeful, impactful life, with thriving relationships and lifting as you climbed and paying it forward and fulfilling a calling that really mattered to you.
"I encourage you to take a step back and look at your life. If your calling requires college, go. If it doesn’t, don’t. Stop giving in to the pressure to check all the boxes and instead, pursue your passion. Make a living out of it. What is it that fills you with life and passion and joy and satisfaction? What goals to you have that will impact the world around you? What can you do for others that will change them for the better, and by default, change you for the better? When you are dead, will you be remembered? Will your life have mattered? Will people long for your presence and your advice and your wisdom, or will they feel relief that they no longer have to deal with you?
"The mark of success, of leadership, is that you serve first, and that people follow you willingly and with joy. The mark of success is that you’re making the world better, on whatever scale. You don’t have to be internationally recognized to be a success.
"If you’ve taken a moment to look at your life and you can’t say for sure what your purpose is or if you’re following it, you need to take some time to redirect it. It is worth whatever time or energy or even money it takes to discover the thing that above all else, drives you and gives you a reason to live, that makes work feel like it’s not a job, that pushes you to wake up every morning and eagerly ready yourself to go out and do it again.
"It’s not a fairytale or a pipe dream or naive in any way to be excited to be alive. It doesn’t mean you haven’t “been around the block” or don’t know what you’re talking about. There is a reason why experienced people are often called “world weary.” Its self explanatory and I pity those people. Those are the last people I would go to for advice about anything. The “reality” they’re spewing is nothing but a lie; telling people to settle for whatever they can get quickly so they can put bread on the table is a cop-out. God forbid that anyone should rise above that and prove that our elders wasted their lives pursuing a padded bottom line to comfort them in their lonely last days. God forbid that we should pursue personal and environmental health. God forbid that we should pursue compassion. God forbid that we should eschew wealth for purpose and help others rather than be self serving wastes of flesh.
"Stop believing the lie. Stop settling. Stop copping out. Stop belittling yourself; believe in your value and importance and impact. YOU matter and you CAN make a difference, but it is a choice you make. No one can choose for you. Stop running on the hamster wheel and start climbing the mountains of potential around you. You CAN succeed, and if you are pursuing YOUR purpose and what you are uniquely inspired to achieve, you ARE succeeding.
Now go out there and DO IT. "
Jasmine Cybele Waller
"People are missing the point and the opportunity of life, and all too often they die with regrets over the things they could have done and didn’t because they were too busy chasing the almighty dollar.
"In the process of working themselves to the bone, they don’t start a family, or the family they have is neglected. The divorce rate is appallingly high, because all of that stress and division makes it impossible for intimacy on any level to bloom and thrive. Friendships fall by the wayside. Extended family grows old and dies with few memories to keep their spirit close. Relationships are less relational than ever and are merely ships that crash on the rocks of distance and sink time and again.
The phrases most often used are “I just don’t have the time” and “I just don’t have the money” and all too often “I just don’t trust anyone anymore.” The lack of trust is too often a result of abuse or misconduct, but it is also because in order to have any relationships at all, we fall into bonds that burn brightly for a moment and are snuffed out by neglect, leaving everyone with a sense of failure and betrayal and the idea that it’s better not to relate at all than to risk being burned. There is no energy left over after a day of grueling labor to work on relationships, and what should be the top priority gets put on the back burner for a less trying time that inevitably fails to arise.
We are living a life without purpose, working towards a goal that is ultimately hollow and unfulfilling. We leave behind little to no lasting impact, and our existences are, to be brutally honest, worthless and meaningless.
People who don’t believe in a god or gods or the divine in general often struggle to believe in purpose or calling, and all to often the believers feel as though purpose and calling are reserved for those who are more important than they are.
"But you exist. You are here. You are alive.
"Therefore, there is purpose.
"You have desires and dreams and talents.
"Therefore, there is purpose.
"There are needs to be met. There are suffering people in need of help. There is a world in chaos.
"Therefore, there is purpose.
"Being a waste of time and space and energy and resources is a choice. Either you get up and make something of yourself or you choose not to. Being wealthy isn’t going to help anyone if you have wasted all the time between commencement to retirement ignoring the needs of yourself and those around you to pursue wealth that will only fund an indefinite vacation where you will unplug and ignore the world until you die. THAT is a wasted life, no matter how many dollars you made in the process. You can’t take that money with you, and even if you bequeath it to someone, money is a hollow and valueless legacy. Even if the person receiving the money uses it to make an impact on the world, that is THEIR legacy, not yours and you will simply be a footnote in the story of THEIR success. Unless in the time it took you to make the money, you were living a purposeful, impactful life, with thriving relationships and lifting as you climbed and paying it forward and fulfilling a calling that really mattered to you.
"I encourage you to take a step back and look at your life. If your calling requires college, go. If it doesn’t, don’t. Stop giving in to the pressure to check all the boxes and instead, pursue your passion. Make a living out of it. What is it that fills you with life and passion and joy and satisfaction? What goals to you have that will impact the world around you? What can you do for others that will change them for the better, and by default, change you for the better? When you are dead, will you be remembered? Will your life have mattered? Will people long for your presence and your advice and your wisdom, or will they feel relief that they no longer have to deal with you?
"The mark of success, of leadership, is that you serve first, and that people follow you willingly and with joy. The mark of success is that you’re making the world better, on whatever scale. You don’t have to be internationally recognized to be a success.
"If you’ve taken a moment to look at your life and you can’t say for sure what your purpose is or if you’re following it, you need to take some time to redirect it. It is worth whatever time or energy or even money it takes to discover the thing that above all else, drives you and gives you a reason to live, that makes work feel like it’s not a job, that pushes you to wake up every morning and eagerly ready yourself to go out and do it again.
"It’s not a fairytale or a pipe dream or naive in any way to be excited to be alive. It doesn’t mean you haven’t “been around the block” or don’t know what you’re talking about. There is a reason why experienced people are often called “world weary.” Its self explanatory and I pity those people. Those are the last people I would go to for advice about anything. The “reality” they’re spewing is nothing but a lie; telling people to settle for whatever they can get quickly so they can put bread on the table is a cop-out. God forbid that anyone should rise above that and prove that our elders wasted their lives pursuing a padded bottom line to comfort them in their lonely last days. God forbid that we should pursue personal and environmental health. God forbid that we should pursue compassion. God forbid that we should eschew wealth for purpose and help others rather than be self serving wastes of flesh.
"Stop believing the lie. Stop settling. Stop copping out. Stop belittling yourself; believe in your value and importance and impact. YOU matter and you CAN make a difference, but it is a choice you make. No one can choose for you. Stop running on the hamster wheel and start climbing the mountains of potential around you. You CAN succeed, and if you are pursuing YOUR purpose and what you are uniquely inspired to achieve, you ARE succeeding.
Now go out there and DO IT. "
Jasmine Cybele Waller
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