Purpose and Passion

I was given a rose a while back. I could not help but delight in the scent and the feel of silk as well as the deep color of the huge petals. There was such beauty in just that one rose, that I did not need a dozen. That one flower was created just for me for that moment. While others may have enjoyed its beauty before me and some will after, the fact is, in that moment, it was just for me. We are created to DO something... To touch someone...if only for just a moment.

How many times have we not paid attention to the beauty right in front of us? We go searching for beauty in magazines and in nature and in our experiences...But what are the simply beautiful things that we should take notice of all around us?

This is how each of us live. Connected. We are wired to people and things throughout our lives. Some of the people we are connected to are good company to keep, best friends, family... You know, the people that you can count on. Some of those to whom we are wired can add extra stress to an already stressful life. They do not make us happy or point us in the direction of following our dreams. We are also connected to things like jobs, contacts (acquaintances), favorite sports and hobbies, cars, houses, televisions... the things we feel benefit us in our everyday walk through this time we have on earth.

I have been thinking about feelings. There are a myriad of feelings we can experience; they can be front and centre, off to the side, hiding in your peripheral vision or nicely bound somewhere down in that back cabin of your mind, secured with a large padlock. We can be engulfed to the point of drowning, we can have feelings borrowed from someone else, feelings dictated by our families and friends or feelings that we think we should be having; whatever the situation or timing in our lives.

Have you ever been shopping for a specific item like a formal dress or pair of shoes? Well, sure you have. And, while on that shopping trip, did you tend to get really distracted by all the new seasonal fashions and trends. Suddenly, your purposeful trip to the mall gets derailed...at least for a few minutes while you rush to the dressing room to try on that cute top you just couldn't resist scooping up into your arms. After all, it's so much fun to indulge in things that don't have rhyme or reason, huh? And though I have my fair share of these carefree occasions, I want to use this scenario to explain how living your life like this regularly can literally derail your train to authentic purpose.

This is sort of a random post that I felt like sharing with you. As women, we have so many jobs, titles, and responsibilities that fill our days. And, sometimes, those things overtake us to the point we may not ever have the chance to BE the one person we are meant to or do the things we dream of doing. I know that being a mom, wife, boss, employee, etc. are all valid positions that make us a part of who we are; however, you have to admit, there is so much more to the makings of a beautiful woman. I want to just point out a few possibilities here with this list of "BE" statements. Would you join me in sharing your ideas? Just enter your "BE" suggestion in the comments!

Do you ever sit in a inoperable slump, waiting for your foul mood to pass, or for something good to happen to change things? I have. And, while in a state of self-pity and emotional compromise, my creativity has been stifled. Yes, nil, zip, zilch...it was in those times when I tended to focus on what I didn't want, instead of what I did. It was like a steel trap, in the sense that I struggled to escape. Well, at least for those moments.

Kathleen began to notice a disturbing trend. All the books she was reading featured male heroes. As she began to study childhood classics by Dr. Seuss, she noticed the only female characters were negative ones – lazy mothers, gossipy women, or colorless sisters who had no dialog.

I'm always on the look out for ingenious ideas to help release creativity. One trend I've noticed lately involves groups of people getting together at a local bar, restaurant or designated studio to explore a specific creative medium. There is one in Indianapolis called Wine & Canvas.

Have you ever just been stuck on one question? Does it have the word "why" in it? We humans tend to want to know why everything happens, especially when things aren't good. Realizing that we may never know "why" is truly a revelation, a relieving one at that.

As I was "introspecting" myself, I really wanted to get in touch with what motivates me to keep going, to press through difficulties, to see the finish line...if there is one. The question is really an easy one for me to answer on some levels, but for the deeper issues, it's not quite as simple.

As I stared at the red chicken scratch, I suddenly realized that our lives produce millions of thoughts, events, experiences, skills, and traumas that stay dormant in our minds or forgotten altogether.

What are you giving? How do you present YOU to the world? What gifts and talents are pouring out of you regularly? Do you spend too much time wishing that you could do something different only to miss living the life you have?

Introspective Sunday: What Is My Purpose? Ooh...this is a loaded question and is likely one of the most important ones you can ever ask yourself. With various shoes to fill, women can become extremely busy meeting the needs of others; even though we willingly enter into many different ventures, tasks and jobs, are we truly fulfilling our life purposes within the mayhem?

"The events in our lives happen in a sequence in time, but in their significance to ourselves, they find their own order...the continuous thread of revelation." -Eudora Welty