Finding Your Life’s Purpose: Light Bulb or Sunrise?

July 28, 2010

I like my microwave. I like the fact that, if I feel hunger pangs at 11:30AM, I can begin dismissing those pangs at 11:34 with a warm meal. I like the way my Blackberry delivers my email almost instantly after it’s sent, regardless of the sender’s location on the planet. And if I’m having dinner with friends and an argument breaks out about the identification of the fourteenth vice president of the United States, I simply type the question into Google, settle the argument, and order dessert. Instant needs, instant solutions. Very nice.

But there’s an unfortunate downside to all of these quick and easy solutions.  These nearly instant answers to many of our questions and desires can create unrealistic expectations in other areas of life. While we may want to instantly gratify all of our desires, some things simply cannot be solved in the twinkle of an eye. Finding our life’s purpose is a great example. A few people may find meaning and purpose in a blinding flash of awareness, but most don’t. It’s not as if all we have to do is think, “Gee, I’d like to know my purpose of life” then we just flip on an awareness switch, as if we’re turning on the living room light, and “poof” there it is. It does occasionally happen like this, but this kind of epiphany is the exception, not the rule. More often the realization is incremental, it’s subtle, and it requires a good deal of intentional effort.  Becoming aware of your life’s purpose is generally more like observing a sunrise than turning on a light switch.

When you observe a sunrise, you begin in darkness. Then, just over the horizon, you begin to see the first subtle rays of daylight. You’re not even sure that you see the light at first, but then as you watch carefully, the light becomes a tiny bit brighter. But here is where this analogy begins to break down. Unlike the sunrise, finding your life’s purpose is not inevitable. You can’t speed up the sunrise or stop it, and the day will emerge with or without you. But if you look away from the horizon when looking for your life’s purpose, the light will leave. And this light will not return until you begin seeking it again. Unlike the sunrise, finding the light of your life’s purpose will probably require your sustained effort. But if you’re willing to invest your time and energy in its pursuit, over time you can certainly find your purpose. In fact, the more wholeheartedly you seek your purpose in an open and expectant way, the brighter and clearer it will become.

Fortunately, while it requires effort and commitment, the pursuit of our life’s purpose is not a burden but a tremendously wonderful, rewarding, and energizing journey. My advice? Forget looking for the silver bullet. When it comes to your life’s purpose, there is no light switch. Instead, become willing to do whatever you need to do to find your life’s purpose, keep looking out expectantly toward the horizon, and then rejoice in each incremental increase in illumination that you will discover.