Why Are You Here?

It was a Tuesday evening. Charlene stepped up to microphone. Her speech was amazing. And all I remember today, is the title – “Destiny’s Child.”

She told the story of her life, from childhood, pointing out the times along the way, where she exhibited character traits that pointed to who she is today. She found more events, repeating the same messages, of who she is, of her purpose, of her mission, in her teen years. And again, in young adulthood.

As she stood before me the proud accomplished psychologist that she was, she painted a picture of the threads that knit together the tapestry of her life, thus far.

We have all seen glimpses of those threads. When we take the time to look, we discover that who we are, may be not right now, but who we are destined to be, was foretold in our past. At least in my case it was.

I remember one afternoon, working on a computer problem for a small business, and having accomplished the goal, the owner said to me, “You know, you’re gonna go far kid. You got the gift of gab.” Yes, way back then I was destined to be a speaker.

What about you? Why are you here? What is your purpose and mission in life?

Ok, I heard a lot of answers, mostly saying, “I haven’t got a clue!” Perfect. Let’s start there.

In a general sense, we are all here for 3 main reasons.

We are here to give value. It does not matter what you do, how old you are, your sex or your race. You have the ability, the desire, and the need, to give value to the universe. It does not matter what that value looks like nor to whom you give it. You have a driving force to show the universe your value and to have it accepted. This driving force comes from deep down in your being.

We are here to receive value. Again, it does not matter who you are, your age, sex, race, religion, any of that. You might be the Queen of the richest country in the world and still there are times when you will need to receive value from someone else. Receiving value is a humbling experience. It does not co-exist with ego. If you believe you can do it all, you don’t need any help from anyone, you are blocking this essential core driving force in your being. Those were my beliefs. I could trust no one. I could rely on no one. It’s a lonely place to be.

We are here to grow. Growing, advancing, maturing, both as an individual and as a race – the human race. If we look at the history of humanity in large chunks (500 or 1000 years) we can see the evolution, the growth of humankind. If we look at your life in large chunks (5, 10, 20 years) again, we can see the growth – hopefully. There is an uncomfortable law in the universe – if you’re not advancing, you are falling behind. That is, if you are not growing, you are actually going in reverse. There is no standing still. Growth is maturing, evolving, becoming a better more powerful you. This is a good thing. Yes or yes? Is it painful? Sometimes. As we grow, that pain affects us less. Growth is also exciting and fun.

These three core reasons for our being here, are the basis of finding your purpose in life. Abraham Hicks tells us to go through our life observing. Make note of the things you like, the things you want more of in your life. Also make note of the things you want less of in your life. As you give more and more attention to the things you want, your purpose for your being here right now, will reveal itself to you.

This article originally appeared in the Spring 2019 issue of CHOICES Magazine