The Purpose Driven Life Among the Natives
Not long ago, I wrote a column about all the signs that I see on my daily drive to work and how many of them either make no sense or the sense they do make is stupid. Well, I've seen another one, and this one I don't know what to make of. It was a billboard on the side of the interstate during a recent trip to Nashville. All it said was "You Were Created for a Specific Purpose!" That's all. It didn't explain what the purpose was that I was created for.
So what, I began to ask myself, is my purpose anyway. According to my sign, I was created for it and "a purpose" seems to mean just one thing. If I have one singular purpose in the world, shouldn't I know what it is?
Is my purpose to be a good husband? That's one of the main drives in my life due to my recent marriage but is it my "one purpose"? And if so, were the 31 years prior to my marriage completely purpose-less? That seems an awful waste.
Perhaps it has to do with my career in some way. Since I began work at 14, I have been a babysitter, farmhand, cook, dishwasher, store clerk, DJ, semi-professional writer, security guard, computer tech, and social worker. That's a lot of jobs. And none of them relate to each other very much. Remember, this is a SPECIFIC purpose I was created for. Meandering from one career to the next, never latching on to anything (and only once doing what my college degree actually trained me for) doesn't seem very specific in its purpose. In fact, it seems quite purpose-less. Was my time as a radio broadcaster more purposeful than my time working with children? Or vice/versa? I don't know.
I've always been said to be a good listener and advice giver among my friends. Perhaps that's my purpose. But that talent (if it is such) is only used sporadically and even less so recently since distance has kept me from being the shoulder to cry on when needed and a strange spurt of relationship stability has made my services unneeded. I'm 31. Is my "one life purpose" already fulfilled? Can I go "lay down in the graveyard and wait my turn" as my grandfather used to threaten to do? Am I doomed to another 50 years of purpose-less life ahead of me, wandering the world but making no dent?
Needless to say, I'm confused. If I have this one overriding purpose, you think someone would clue me in. Either my creator (and, at least according to the sign, I do have one or else it would say "you were accidentally evolved over eons from a puddle of primordial gloop for a specific purpose!) or by the people who made the sign that reminded me of my supposed purpose.
So I leave the question to you, gentle readers. Do you know what my purpose is? Or if you locate a lost purpose wandering around your neighborhood, could you direct it my way? I'd be eternally grateful (and much more productive...)
-Gryph
"If there's a new way
I'll be the first in line
But it better work this time..."
-Megadeth
NP: Meatloaf: Bat Out of Hell
So what, I began to ask myself, is my purpose anyway. According to my sign, I was created for it and "a purpose" seems to mean just one thing. If I have one singular purpose in the world, shouldn't I know what it is?
Is my purpose to be a good husband? That's one of the main drives in my life due to my recent marriage but is it my "one purpose"? And if so, were the 31 years prior to my marriage completely purpose-less? That seems an awful waste.
Perhaps it has to do with my career in some way. Since I began work at 14, I have been a babysitter, farmhand, cook, dishwasher, store clerk, DJ, semi-professional writer, security guard, computer tech, and social worker. That's a lot of jobs. And none of them relate to each other very much. Remember, this is a SPECIFIC purpose I was created for. Meandering from one career to the next, never latching on to anything (and only once doing what my college degree actually trained me for) doesn't seem very specific in its purpose. In fact, it seems quite purpose-less. Was my time as a radio broadcaster more purposeful than my time working with children? Or vice/versa? I don't know.
I've always been said to be a good listener and advice giver among my friends. Perhaps that's my purpose. But that talent (if it is such) is only used sporadically and even less so recently since distance has kept me from being the shoulder to cry on when needed and a strange spurt of relationship stability has made my services unneeded. I'm 31. Is my "one life purpose" already fulfilled? Can I go "lay down in the graveyard and wait my turn" as my grandfather used to threaten to do? Am I doomed to another 50 years of purpose-less life ahead of me, wandering the world but making no dent?
Needless to say, I'm confused. If I have this one overriding purpose, you think someone would clue me in. Either my creator (and, at least according to the sign, I do have one or else it would say "you were accidentally evolved over eons from a puddle of primordial gloop for a specific purpose!) or by the people who made the sign that reminded me of my supposed purpose.
So I leave the question to you, gentle readers. Do you know what my purpose is? Or if you locate a lost purpose wandering around your neighborhood, could you direct it my way? I'd be eternally grateful (and much more productive...)
-Gryph
"If there's a new way
I'll be the first in line
But it better work this time..."
-Megadeth
NP: Meatloaf: Bat Out of Hell
posted by Gryphon at 7:05 PM
3 Comments:
We all have one over-riding purpose, Griff- to love one another. If we do that right, everything else works out.
Bah Humbug! My purpose is to consume NutraSweet.
Obviously you have decided that it is NOT one of the purposes of your life to update your blog. Don't tell me you are busy. Who isn't? And don't hand me that "I just couldn't get inspired" horse hockey. You are a writer. Stop lurking and WRITE! I expect a complete essay on your site by Wednesday, September 21, or you will get an incomplete for the semester. No, wait a minute... I don't do that anymore. Sigh.
Post a Comment
<< Home