Purpose

Purpose is an important part of living a fulfilled life.  Having a sense of purpose can help us through the bumpy patches and give us a reason to get out of bed on the days that it seems impossible to talk ourselves into that simple act.   As human beings living on this planet, however, it can sometimes be difficult to find what our purpose is here.  Are you supposed to help children in poverty?  Are you supposed to help your neighbor that has trouble with house repairs?  What about fighting against injustice?  As people age, and particularly once they've reached the age where they're in assisted living facilities, the question of purpose seems to get lost.  It  is at those times, however, that it may be the most important piece to a larger puzzle.  Without purpose, people tend toward self-absorption and even depression.

Recently I was talking with someone who worked in a nursing care facility.  She said that she'd been working with some older ladies to make bags for young girls in Africa to enable them to go to school.  The particular village they were sending them to had a large population of girls who were skipping school each month during their menstrual cycle because they didn't have the materials or means to make the sanitary items they needed.  It is a common problem in areas of poverty around the world  It is also one that can be easily solved.  The women in this group (some of which have dementia), are happy to work on sewing up the needed items.  Those who have hands that are not able to sew can fit strings through the bags in which they send the items.  It has been a great time of bonding for all involved, and has given them a purpose and a way to help in the world that they hadn't been aware of before.  It also gives them something to talk about among themselves and a topic of conversation with others.

Purpose can be a tricky thing, but I've always been taught that the easiest way to find it is to practice starting at home.  Be sure that you're showing love through your actions to those who are closest to you.  Look around in your daily life for other things you can lend a hand to.  Ask around if you are still coming up short on ideas.  Some people look for something very specific, thinking that their purpose might be to paint portraits of specific people who have lived in the rain forest and learned to adapt in all ways to nature.  For most of us, purpose might not be that specific, but rather a good fit while working to help solve a problem that we see around us.

Helping to solve a problem that we find can be as easy as creating a waterproof, cushioned barrier between the ground and someone who has to sleep on the ground.  Some groups of people have learned how to use plastic yarn or “plarn” to crochet mats for those without homes who are sleeping out in the elements.  It is easily rolled, lightweight, and can add a bit of comfort and even though it is not solving the homelessness problem, it is doing SOMETHING rather than the nothing that is often done.

Solving problems that we see around us can be addictive.  Once we see how much little things can help, it makes us want to get involved in many ways.  For elderly people, there may be ways that they can contribute items that they've made for door prizes for fundraisers for charities that they support.  They may be able to give of their time in helping in other various ways.  Perhaps they can't stand for long periods of time, but they may be able to tag clothing for a community thrift store.  Perhaps they could help serve food at a breakfast fundraiser.  Perhaps they might be able to write thank  you cards for an organization that has received donations, or make calls to ask for donations.

Purpose is a funny thing.  We spend so much time wondering what our purpose might be when it could be that it is really a very simple activity in our daily lives.  The best way to look is to find something that has a positive impact on our immediate sphere of influence or in the wider world.  If you're able to pinpoint it, you may find a little more contentment in knowing that you're making a difference, and a little more excitement upon waking in the morning!

Heroes

Have you spent much time pondering heroism?  What is it in your estimation that makes a hero?  There are several people throughout the ages that have been set up as heroes.  Robinhood, King Arthur, Pocahontas and Mother Teresa come to mind quickly.  Some others are people that we grew up understanding to be heroes but who, after much inquiry, were discovered to have characters that did not wholeheartedly match their heroic deeds.  Does a lifetime of great deeds erase a poor character?  Some say yes, others disagree & want the names and faces of these people obliterated from history.  History, though, should not be re-written.  Otherwise how will we know what has gone before, which things to aspire to and which to refrain from?  How will we learn through observation instead of continually banging our knuckles up learning from experience?

As we age, there are people that we aspire to be like, but they are different than the heroes which we may have looked to as younger versions of ourselves.  We no longer track the best athlete in a particular sport.  Oh, we may know who they are, but their remarkable feats are no longer on a pedestal like they once were.  We recognize their innate abilities are things they were born with and things that can be taken away in the blink of an eye with a debilitating injury.

We, hopefully, no longer chase after heroes on Wall Street and aspire to be just like them.  There is no amount of money in the world that can give a person solid character and decency of heart, even if they understand numbers and markets really well.

We no longer look at intelligence as a thing to be lauded.  Parts of intelligence are ingrained, some are bought through really great educational systems & some intelligence is bought with sweat and tears and persistence when opportunities for formal schooling are difficult to come by.

Even if we appreciate art or music, we don’t lift up the artists and musicians in the same way we once did.  We recognize that some of it is gift, some of it is training, & much of it is hard work that made them the way they are.  We also begin to recognize that any one of these people above can either be incredibly inspirational or complete jerks.  Our visions are no longer clouded with the great things that they do.  We start to see with more clarity and begin to look and discover who they are.

There are tons of athletes that are full of themselves and who treat those around them very poorly.  There are billionaires who do the same.  There are elite professors and scientists who do the same.  There are musicians and artist in the same category.  People who have “everything going for them”, who have excelled in their field, yet most people cannot stand to be around when they get to know them better.   And, there are those who are just the same after their rise to fame as they were before.  Those who stay the same are probably heroes, but it is still not because of what they’ve done, but because of who they are.

Character behind action is really the thing that makes heroes.  You cannot have action without character or else you become an empty shell lacking in compassion.  You cannot have character without action, or else other people will never experience the compassion that you do have.  You need both, in tons, and at the same time to be a true hero to someone else.

  As I age I think about heroism differently.   I see single parents who get up each day to love their children more fiercely than ever because they’re doing it alone.  It would be far easier for them to stay in bed and wallow in self-pity, but they get up and do what they have to do for someone else.  I see cancer survivors who know that the little corner of earth that they contribute to will go through difficulty if they don’t show up, so they get up when they don’t feel like it and go help someone else.  I see elderly who volunteer to help those in need in various ways even though their joints and organs tell them they should be the ones cared for.  I see teenagers who volunteer to help those that can’t help themselves and offer their youth and energy because they see the need in front of them.  All of these people share something in common.  They share an outward view of compassion.  Inward views often make us think more highly of ourselves than we ought.  Outward views put the earth and ourselves into perspective.  We are not the center of everything & it’s good for us to remember that.  Other people need help.  Looking outwardly to those in need around us can transform us from an everyday bloke into a quiet and unsung hero.   And, in my humble opinion, it is far better to be an unsung hero each day than to have the attention of thousands only for them to discover an empty shell of a human being.  Be a person of substance.  Go and do something of substance.  See if you can make change in your world by being an everyday hero.