Purpose, Love, and Fear

Sometimes I get frustrated with the whole idea of “purpose.” Why am I here? How can I be of service? How can I be in alignment with my purpose? What exactly is my purpose, anyway?

The funny thing is, purpose is a combination of what lies within us and what lies outside of us. It’s where who we are and what we have to offer meets the world. Alchemy happens in that space.

The idea of purpose as a flashing neon sign is misleading. For many if not most of us, our purpose is quiet and often seemingly mundane. But the divine is in the everyday.

Our purpose shows itself in the dailiness of our lives. When we choose to live ON purpose, with intention, it is evident in everything that we do, from how we interact with others to how we plan our days.

Your purpose shines through what you have to give and how you give it and most importantly, why. What’s your “why”? Why do you want that job? Why do you want to read that book? Why do you want to meet that person? Why do you get up in the morning?

In the end, we’re all living our purpose every day we are on this earth. We may not know exactly what it is, but by being here we are living our purpose.

Becoming conscious of our purpose allows us to act with further intention. Observe yourself. Notice your intentions, actions, and reactions. Reflect. Notice how your talents, skills, and interests coalesce and how you can bring your magic to the world.

This can be as simple as taking the time to say hello and ask how someone is doing. Your purpose in that moment is to allow someone else to feel heard. You see, we may have certain talents, skills, and abilities that bring something unique to the world and serve a particular purpose, yet consider that we have more than one purpose. And, ultimately, in the end we all share the same overarching purpose: to love and be loved.

Everything pursued with intention and shared as a gift of love brings healing to the world. That may sound hokey or “woo-woo” to some, but think about it. The opposite of love is fear. I’ll venture to guess that most of you would agree that we live a world that is so often hijacked and paralyzed by fear. Fear feeds prejudice, hate, war, greed, betrayal—it keeps us separated.

Consider love. Love opens eyes and hearts. It allows space for listening and recognition. It allows space for compassion, collaboration, sharing, and creativity. Love is a verb. Love in all its many forms is action for the greater good. Love is a powerful force that when released can bring more healing and growth than anything else. Yet how many of us struggle to feel loved and to allow ourselves to be loved? To give love?

Fear gets in the way of love. We are afraid of showing ourselves. We are afraid of rejection. We are afraid of loss. But here’s the thing: Fear is an illusion. Fear keeps us small and seemingly “safe.” It stops us from growing. It stops us from trying something new, meeting new friends, sharing what we have to give.

If someone can’t or won’t receive what you’re offering, it’s not about you. It’s about that person and the offer itself. The offering simply is not what they want or need.

We come into this world as love. Innocent and fresh, totally trusting. But we are quickly taught the language of fear. We are taught fear disguised as love. Conditional love is fear-based. It says, ” I will love you if you do these things that I want or that make me feel comfortable.”

How quickly the child learns that in order to have their needs met they must meet these demands. “Love” becomes entangled with fear and survival. The fear is, “If I don’t meet these expectations, do as I’m told, please this person, I will be rejected and my needs won’t be met.” Where is love in this?

Love is not conditional. Love simply is. Love is accepting. Love is fierce. Love is compassionate. Love sees beyond the surface and recognizes the heart of the other. Love sees the child inside.

Here’s another thought to consider. Love must come from within. First, recognize that you are love and you are loved. You are divinely loved. Your spirit is not separate. Your spirit lies within you and joins with the spirit of every other person. It is the light that guides you and the beacon you shine out to others. We often dim this light to protect ourselves out of fear, out of fear that we won’t be loved.

But we are already loved, each and everyone of us. We are all a twinkle of divine light. The more we turn up the dial and shine our light, the more we illuminate the shadows. Then we can see that all those monsters we were afraid of weren’t real. There was never anything there to fear in the first place.

(Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay )