The idea that one has a "purpose" or a "calling" on one's life is another one of those universal thoughts that many different spiritual traditions have identified. I've connected to mine through my Christian faith, but you don't have to be a Christian to know you have gifts and talents, or passions in life that call to you.
I think it's part of human psychology, deep-rooted in our social-animal nature, to want our lives to make a difference in the world. We find our reason for being in what we perceive to be our life's purpose.
Conversely, I don't think I've ever met any more unhappy kind of person than those who don't think they have any particular purpose, no reason to exist. They swell the ranks of the suicidal, because they really don't believe they matter--even when they very much DO.
My faith-tradition tells me that I was uniquely created by God, and placed here in this moment and location for specific reasons--with tasks set before me, which I was specifically crafted to do well. It is part of my faith-walk to seek out my callings (we all come with several), and fulfill them as faithfully as I can.
That means I must know myself, in as much honesty and fullness as I can. I must look at myself critically, and evaluate my strengths and weaknesses to the best of my ability, nakedly before God (God already knows, of course; there's no fooling, or faking God out).
What am I drawn to do? Where do my skills, talents, and natural abilities lie? If I was created by God to fulfill certain callings as faithfully as I can, then I must also believe that God has attuned my heart to them (why else would they be identified as callings, after all?). When I am fulfilling the best uses I can find for the callings I feel most passionate about, then I believe I am operating at the heart of God's will for me.
I don't know any other way to faithfully answer my calling. Some things--some causes, some works--resonate more deeply for me. Throughout my life, it has been the same: Writing; artwork; teaching; giving; nurturing the animals and people entrusted into my hands. God and I have pretty much reached an understanding, six-plus decades on. I do the work as I understand it; God provides the way to sustain it.
So far, that's working for me. I hope you've found your own path--the one that works for you. Blessings come, along your calling's paths. Follow your passion, when you think you've lost your way.
IMAGES: The "Seven Days of Gratitude" design is my own creation, for well or ill. If for some reason You'd like to use it, please feel free to do so, but I request attribution and a link back to this post. Many thanks to Chellyepic on Instagram, for the "things that excite you" quote image; to Heart and Soul Coaching for the Mark Twain quote image; to The Soul Purpose Project, for the Picasso quote image; and to Awesome Quotes on Tumblr for the "purpose and passion" quote image. I deeply appreciate all of you!
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