“I can’t seem to find my life purpose, what’s wrong with me?” asked a client recently. It’s a common question amongst spiritual seekers. It’s also unnecessary. Because, your true purpose is not something you have a choice about.
Consider an oak tree. Does an oak tree wonder what it’s purpose is? Do you imagine it sits within its acorn debating whether to grow into an oak or a sycamore? Given some fertile ground, sunlight and water, the acorn will express itself as an oak tree. Guaranteed.
And so it is with you. Given the right environment… nourishment, love, light (consciousness) your highest purpose reveals itself.
One day, when I was a teenager, I arrived home from my Saturday job to discover that a magnificent 400 year old oak tree, in a neighbors backyard, had been torn down. I burst into a hot rage. I was on the verge of banging on the neighbors door demanding to know why the tree had been destroyed. It felt like a murder had taken place.
Although I wasn’t fully aware in that moment, my purpose was revealing itself. My passion for honoring and upholding the inherent sacredness in life was expressing.
Your purpose is not something that can be figured out, or conjured up in a weekend workshop. Sometimes it’s obvious, like a gifted musician who knows she is destined to perform. Yet, mostly, what’s already intended within you, matures, over many life experiences (even, over many lifetimes)… each one opening to a deeper layer of wisdom and love at your core.
Whether you’re a full time parent, CEO, baker or candlestick maker… the outward form of your life is not the real measure of what’s encoded within you. What counts is the degree to which you are the fullest expression of what is at your core… which is pure love.
Your ‘job’, so to speak, is to cultivate the conditions which anchor you in your own skin, fully and completely. Then, just like the oak tree, it is inevitable that you will branch out and express the beauty and magnificence that is uniquely yours.
Care to share how your purpose is revealing?
Just lovely, Fiona. Lovely.
Thank you for nourishing my heart with your words, and with this gentle reminder.
We don’t have to force or seek or look. Yes, yes – we unfold into who we are. Trying to do otherwise is like stopping a flower from blooming….
I chuckled as I read your blog post, as I feel the same way about trees. When I lived in Montana, the oak trees in front of my house had succumbed to disease. And yet I couldn’t bear to cut them down – they were still beautiful to me, and so many birds lived in them! It was only when the trees became a safety hazard (the dried, decaying branches would fall off in the 50 mph wind gusts that Montana was known for) that I agreed to cut them down. And I cried, too….
In gratitude, Karly
I’m with you, Karly..nature is such a powerful reminder of our own true nature. Blossoming is a perfect way of imaging truth unfolding.
i had the same reaction to yours when a big, beautiful tree was removed behind our home many years ago.
No one else seemed to have a problem with it.
What a lovely message this morning, Fiona! Thank you. 🙂
I’m so glad you have your inner senses attuned. Our inner senses, our Hearts, allows the Truth to be known. Have a lovely day!
Hi Fiona,
Thank you for sharing this with me. For the past 2 years, I have been doing a lot of self development work and have recently started my own cancer coaching practice. During this time, I’ve learned that my real purpose is to love and accept myself unconditionally, and in doing that, I give that back to others. I know at my core I’m destined to work with the sick and the poor, and it has been interesting to see how that is slowly unfolding because it is a lot different than I imagined. I listened to your retreat last week, and as I continue to let go and find my own inner peace, I have more clarity about what I will bring to the people I work with.
With much gratitude and love,
Donnie
Donnie, there is a real need to bring healing to those with cancer. Your calling is a noble one. And, like you, I’ve also found that attuning to a higher purpose often does not turn out as I thought it would! The ability to let go is key to smoothing the way. So glad you found the retreat led you to inner peace. In appreciation, Fiona
Oh my goodness! What a potent and beautifully expressed reminder. We shine our essence wherever we go and we have for our whole lives. That essence is love, and each person’s expression of that divine love essence is as unique as a fingerprint. Yet how powerful it is to find tribes and resonance with others willing to consciously share and be present in the moment, with self and others, from that place. So thank you for your messages and to our mutual friend, Mark Silver, who brought your work into my awareness. When so many of us on the path of divine expression have felt so alone for so long, it is sweet indeed to make these connections. When we’ve wondered what’s wrong with us, to realize that this purpose is coming out of our pores without our working at it, is a miraculous new vision for ourselves. And when we can get conscious to shape that purpose within life and livelihood, aware of the life experiences that have enriched and expanded it, then we are indeed twice blessed, and so are those we connect with. Blessings!
Am so glad to connect, Bobbye. Indeed, there is a sweetness in finding friends of the Heart. I love your description of divine purpose coming out of our pores! Love to you, Fiona
I agree that our purposes unfold, but I don’t like the oak tree metaphor. If the oak had an ego-mind, then it very likely would wonder what its purpose was. And there would be nothing wrong with that. If the woman were my client, I would probably ask her why it was important to her to find her purpose.
That’s exactly the question I asked the client, Tom! I agree, there’s nothing wrong with questions. Good questions open up to a greater Truth. This client was stressed, felt a failure for not finding answer. In my experience, in some spiritual/self help circle,s there’s an over emphasis on identifying an outer purpose, whilst ignoring the wisdom that flows when surrender is cultivated. Nature points to a state of surrender.
Peace, Fiona
I agree that the answers we’re looking for are inside of us. One of my teachers told me to intend to know, and then be open to whatever comes. I found that very helpful.
It’s interesting, Tom. How, when we open to the possibility that all we need to know is inside us, then something seems to shift – sometimes subtly, at other times it’s more tangible (at least this is my experience). To your inner knowing! Fiona
Hi Fiona, Last weekend I was in spiritual retreat with my teacher and I came away with this same message. Some people were seeking “something” through changing their work. He said what they were already doing was good. It dawned on me that it’s not about the outer form so much as the inner expression of who you are being. If you are living/working in a spiritually-centered way that brings goodness and healing to the world, the outer form could be any number of things. For me, I’ve come to realize a “big clue” about “life purpose” is what fills your heart with enthusiasm and passion – what you love doing. Why would that love be there unless it was meant to be lived! Thanks for helping us see that living “on purpose” is as easy as being/doing what you love and loving what you be and do.
BTW, I have a beautiful old “tree friend,” too. Fortunately my tree lives in a park and is safe and sound. It has a huge canopy and when I stand under the branches and feel the earth, it is like stepping into a magical kingdom!
Hi Amina! So glad you’ve learned this…doing arises out of being. When our inner alignment is grounded, centered in the Heart and open at the top, the form of our work in the world will be guided in the direction of that which serves the whole…and because we are infinitely creative, or rather, Source, is infinitely creative, the form of our work will have wonderful variety. Glad you have a tree friend 😉