No matter what you believe, you probably believe you have a purpose. Either because you’ve discovered it and you can feel it running through your veins like electricity in the moments you get to plug into it… or because you haven’t yet and you can feel the gaping space where you think it should belong.
but, not so fast!
And either way, you’re probably in a hurry to do something about it! Ack! Must. Live (or find). Purpose. It’s a totally natural and expected reaction.
The thing about purpose, finding or keeping pace with it, is that you’ve got to slow down to make it work.
Slight detour to tell a story before returning to make a point: When I was a kid I didn’t know that any other musicians existed besides The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, & Carole King (maybe including a duet with James Taylor) until I was on the bus in 4th grade and people were asking whether I liked Michael Jackson. Michael who? It was embarrassing then, and for some reason the embarrassment lingers (because whenever anyone asks me what kind of music I listen do–which is a question that LUCKILY slows to a trickle once you pass 30–I realize I would still prefer to stick to those three). Anyway, detour over.
One of my favorite songs as a child was the 59th Street Bridge Song by Simon and Garfunkel. I had no idea what it meant then, and even reading the lyrics now… I’m not sure I do… but the first few lines are pretty straight forward.
Slow down, you move too fast.
You got to make the morning (although, I thought it was moment–which made more sense) last…
And I hear them in my head all the time!
The thing about purpose is that it’s about being connected to those forces (no matter what you believe they are) that are bigger than us. And it’s not just being able to see each other from across the room, in our mind’s eye, or sensing awareness… it’s about keeping pace with those forces. Anyone here ever been in marching band? You know what it means to be in step? If not, you can probably imagine… it’s moving your feet to the beat of the music taking a step with your left foot when everyone else does and a step with your right when everyone else done. Being in step.
To live your purpose, you want to be in step with (I’m going to take liberties and call it…) the universe. And to be in step with the universe you need to slow down so you two can (find each other if you need to) come up alongside each other, figure out the beat, decide on a direction, and step off together–left foot first–rolling from heel to toe to keep your upper body steady (wind instrument players get that part). Then, you can take off running.
Go for it. And go slowly.