Our Purpose in Life

(Inspired by a family member)

When people go through a traumatic event they often experience something... life changing or at the very least philosophy of life changing.  For some of us it is a defining moment in the sculpting process of our souls.  We start with a square slab and events give us shape.  They help us chisel away a lot of the loose, weak and unimportant parts that cover up the solid foundation of our core.  But what happens when the event is so powerful we find it has dug too deep?  What happens when we find that it has caused a crack in our very foundation?

In most cases, one of two things will happen.  One... We let this define us as flawed. This is usually a self-fulfilling prophecy.  When we take on the definition of being flawed it makes us flawed.  We also run the risk of the cracks growing into a grooves.  And the more these events bores into us, the less there is of us.  The end result is one where we look around and find nothing but pieces of our life around us but nothing holding them together any more.  And that's a mess.

The other thing that could happen is that we let the events define us as a work in progress.  I would like to say that we can use these events to define us as perfect.  But that's not possible.  But we can use these events as an indicator of where we should start the rebuilding (or healing) process.  We can use the cracks they form to refocus and change our mindset.  The cracks give us a visual starting point as to where we need to start building and stop chiseling.

This process is different for everyone because everyone has a different "shape."  We've all been molded by the events of our past.  So no matter the event it will always be a unique experience for each of us.  And it is this uniqueness that makes me think about our purpose.

What if our GRAND purpose in life is simply to be... US?  I don't want that small sentence to be mistaken for one that is of small importance.  If there will NEVER exist anyone else like us then I think we serve no greater purpose to ourselves and those around us than by being ourselves.  I don't think we should ever stop chiseling away or filing in the cracks but sometimes you should look at the life you molded and realize that it is exactly what it should be... and be happy with the results.  While you are admiring your handy work, you should take a few minutes to check out the "blocks" of those around you.  You will probably notice that the people you care about and those that care about you have designed parts of their masterpiece in your name.  And those who REALLY love you stay around long enough to help you clean up the mess!