The Way It Is
Good Morning Readers,
I’ve been thinking about purpose recently. I know I have many purposeful things in my life. As far as my work, I am energized by many things: reading and writing poetry, my leadership and consulting work, exercising outdoors, my family, and so on. Many, many things. I have considerable energy, get up early, by 5:00 a.m., at the latest, even on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, and am eager to start my day. I feel fortunate and blessed, and am grateful. Thanksgiving was two days ago. I am thankful to have so many things in my life I care about.
Not everyone is so fortunate. As poet Wislawa Szymborska said in her Nobel Prize Speech in 1996, “most of the earth’s inhabitants work to get by. They work because they have to. They didn’t pick this or that kind of job out of passion; the circumstances of their lives did the choosing for them. Loveless work, boring work, work valued only because others haven’t got even that much, however loveless and boring - this is one of the harshest human miseries. And there’s no sign that coming centuries will produce any changes for the better as far as this goes.”
nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1996/szymborska/lecture/
Even for people who have fortune, who have means, many people don’t have a purpose. I see this in the proliferation of all the self-help books, television shows, gurus, and expensive workshops to help people find clarity and inspiration. This isn’t a bad thing. It just points to a long-time focus outward at listening to what society and consumer culture tells us to want and do, as opposed to listening to self. I have a childhood friend who is retiring from a large corporation in December. We reconnected recently. He told me he is going through the motions. I asked him what he planned to do after retirement. He doesn’t have anything that he really wants to do. Nothing energizes him. I can’t relate to his state. I hope after a period of rest he will find something meaningful.
William Stafford addresses the unique gifts and purpose each person brings to the world in his poem, “The Way It is.”
The Way It is
There’s a thread you follow. It goes among things that change. But it doesn’t change. People wonder about what you are pursuing. You have to explain about the thread. But it is hard for others to see. While you hold it you can’t get lost. Tragedies happen; people get hurt or die; and you suffer and get old. Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding. You don’t ever let go of the thread.
William Stafford
These are my questions for you this week: What gives you purpose? What are you pursuing? What are your threads? What energizes you and gets you up in the morning and sustains you?
I look forward to hearing your comments.
David
