“To be, or not to be, that is the question . . .”
But for me, it boiled down to “to be what . . .?”
And then, years later when I was cliff climbing on an early morning in the spring, it just sort of wandered up into me as I struggled toward the top and the breaking day—what I really wanted to be . . .
“I want to be the man I am meant to be.” It lodged in my heart and has never left.
May not seem like much, at first glance, but it means a lot to me. It implies that I am pre-ordained to some purpose. And I believe that to be true. I believe everybody has some unique and special purpose in being here on this globe in space we call earth. And I believe that most of us, maybe even all of us, at sometime or another, come to that same conclusion or something similar to it—that I have a purpose.
I have a purpose. I am not sure of what it is. I am daily searching for it, trying to tune in to its pathway. But this I know, it does not matter how rich and famous I become, what I have, what I “achieve”, where I go, what I do, any of that - Happiness, true inner peace and tranquility will only exist in my soul when I am involved in and fulfilling my purpose. Everything else marks time, and maybe is useful in directing me onward (and upward), but it is all “empty calories” - no nutritional value, stuff without meaning, words without kindness, time without love.
I fell into this site by accident, and I like what I have found here. This is one of the most positive and generally uplifting sites I have “discovered” in my limited experience of the internet. And when I encountered the opening screen with its big blank space for “what do you want to do with your life?” - I thought I had to answer the question to go to the next page. So I answered with the one honest and true goal in my heart for my life - to be the man I am meant to be, nothing more, and nothing less.
My goal had no “entry” - I didn’t know about “entries” when I first landed here - so here it is. And I want to encourage everyone here, and everyone not here, to be the man, or the woman, they are meant to be. To know that you have a unique and special purpose in life, and that even now, you are on the pathway of its discovery. Stay on the path, stray not far from it. Do not be in a hurry—it is a journey of a lifetime, and like all really good and great journeys, it is the people along the way, the little stops to help someone or to admire the view that make the traveling worthwhile. Keep the goal in mind, but take time to stop and smell the roses.
And sure, there will be deep valleys of despair along with the hilltops of joyful exultation. And there may be long stretches of desert, and sometimes you will walk all alone - or think that you are. You are never alone on your journey, never. There is always Someone Somewhere watching over, keeping an eye out - even when you are so sure there is no one. Every darkest hour has its dawn.
And we are on this journey together, you, I, and everyone else. And if each day we just try to love each other a little bit better, to be just a little kinder, a little more giving, a bit gentler—how great it will be.
In many ways we fulfill our purpose by our journey. It is often the little things we do each day that create ripples in the hearts of others - like the “cheers” we give. And onward we march every day, never losing sight of the ultimate goal, the Ultimate Final Goal - “to love the Lord thy God with all your heart, and all your mind, and all your spirit—and your neighbor as yourself.”
The goal of life is to learn to love. I am the man I am meant to be when I love you as God loves me.
In the Spirit of His Love,
D.
