The purpose of life contains the power to ignite true potential within. Life situations give birth to many desires that appear as our real purpose. We fall for them and go after them only to realize that they are not what we seekers genuinely want. What is the purpose of our life?
Ever since I faced with this question, I have made many failed attempts to find the answer. I planned to give up my search. Then, one day, as I was traveling on a train in India, I saw a fellow passenger sitting across me with thick glasses and a long beard. I felt invited to ask him this question one last time. With little hope, I went to him and asked, “What is the purpose of my life?”. He looked at me. His looks made me think as if he is looking at an alien. I remain calm. He lowered his thick glasses and said to me, “Find your real identity. That is what you are here for.” I was not satisfied. I requested to ask one more question. He gave his permission, and I asked, “I know my identity. Why do I have to search for it ?” He smiled at me and replied, “Seek what you can become, dissolve what you think you are. The journey to find your new identity is your real purpose.”
These lines created a spark in me, and thus, I began my journey of finding “who am I.” I spent numerous hours reading books, watching videos, listening to thinkers, scientists, philosophers, physicists.
I compiled all the knowledge and then connected the dots. The picture of the life structure that emerged is just amazing.
It took me in my memory lane. After deep introspection, it made me realize that my mind contains many layers of impressions. The root of my feelings and opinions is a reflection of how others presented the world to me. This root dictated how I perceive and respond to situations and people around me. Based on my actions, I receive reactions from others. These reactions continued to add new layers of impressions in my mind and influence my future move. That is the cycle of life.
So all these years, I was never myself. I had covered my true identity with someone else’s view of the world.
Here is a small anecdote of my life to illustrate this point further.
I had a near-drowning experience when I was six years old. This fear stayed with me until 2015. When we go to water parks, my friends make fun of me, push me into water slides. My brothers said to me, “You can never swim.”
Three types of identities are at play. The near-drowning experience is my remembered one, friends making fun of me is reflected one, and my wife’s comment to me is programmed.
You may have experienced some of these lines from your parents, friends, colleagues, wife, children. “You are not a good listener,” “You overthink,” “You will become a great musician,” “You are funny.”
These impressions are so deep that it is nearly impossible not to get influenced by these in our day to day actions. We continuously struggle in this borrowed orbit of life. We need an orbit shifter to move beyond this and create our new identity. 2015, I took many swimming lessons, and finally, I got rid of the fear of water and began to develop an interest in swimming.
Little did I realize that I was already on the journey to find my new identity. I have taken the first few steps to redefine myself, one step at a time.
The purpose of your life is waiting over there waving at you and inviting you to take that first step on this journey and discover your new identity. The bigger question is, “ Are you ready?”