What if being fully alive is the purpose?
Rethinking the pursuit of purpose inspired by Pamela Clapp's: 'Why the French Don't Obsess Over Purpose."
Hello friends!
gave me a dose of courage to experiment a little this week.
So I AM SAYING YES!
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“Maybe being fully alive is its own kind of purpose.” Words from “Why the French Don’t Obsess Over Purpose” by
that’s echoed all week.
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What if being fully alive is the purpose?
What if simply living to the fullest is what purpose is?
What if the concept of finding purpose is an arbitrary modern invention?
I’ve been so obsessed with the idea of finding my one purpose—it’s felt like a lifelong mission all in itself.
Conditioned to believe that once I find purpose, everything else will fall into it’s place, I’ve spent most of my days searching for this elusive purpose.
Some days I think I’ve found the holy grail, other days I am helplessly lost—the latter is where I am most. But I keep moving forward, because uncertainty is part of process they say.
Finding my purpose feels so compelling, I never thought to entertain other possibilities.
I also thought purpose was something to search, find, and settle into for the rest of my life. I thought there’s one purpose for every person; failing to comprehend the stretch of time we may actually live.
Trends in bio-hacking may give us 80 plus years or at the very least ‘perfect’ a health routine enough to join the centenarian club. We’re so confident we’ve even started to flirt with the idea of living to infinity.
In hindsight, one purpose to span most if not our entire lifetime is a ridiculous expectation, especially considering the pace of change today.
Just ask this year’s computer science graduates from the US (“Goodbye, $165,000 Tech Jobs. Student Coders Seek Work at Chipotle.”) and the UK (“Computer science graduates struggle to secure their first jobs”)— they’ll tell you they once believed degree in coding was a safe high-yielding bet.
I am rethinking my strategy.
Follow curiosities, lean into wonder, and never stop exploring is my attitude today. Purpose will ebb and flow and find its own way.
To trust in the evolutions and spontaneous maneuvers that life often demands of us. To work on silencing the noise and turning up the voice of intuition instead. “Everything that’s meant for me will be,” I keep repeating.
Leaving the world free from regrets is the dream. But, if you want science-backed evidence, let Harvard Medical School’s longest study be your guide to happiness. Hint: wealth, fame, and ‘success’ are not it.
What if all purpose is, is to build a life where I feel most alive, most days, for most of my life?
Not everyday, but most days.
What if purpose is to live a life that’s most fulfilling and spend our days doing meaningful things with those we love most.
To do the things that spark joy, excites, inspires, and challenges us in just the right ways for productivity and a sense of accomplishment yet also at ease enough to live stress free to enjoy the moments throughout and the minutes in between?
What if to be fully alive—most days— is the purpose?
I am in awe of the lymphatic system.
I never knew I can feel so loose, light, and limber, until I did this thing:
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