Hopeful Thinking - Saturday, July 22, 2023 - Tracking Your North Star

I know I was a slightly unusual kid. I had these very deep, almost inexpressible feelings, I would approach strangers to ask them what they thought happened to them when they died. I deeply felt as though I was supposed to be “doing something” and would express as much to my mother. But as loving as she would be about it, there was no answer forthcoming about what that something might be. 

As I proceeded through life, I couldn’t shake that feeling. It was like having a deeply emotional bond with a thought for which I had no words to express. A feeling of purpose, but with no understanding of the nature of it. 

I came to realize that the feeling resonated most closely with kind acts. When I did a good deed, it reminded me of that feeling, that sense of the “something” I was supposed to be doing. And because it felt good to do things which resonated with that complex feeling from early childhood, I did more of it.

I became something of a good deed doer for my own enjoyment. I didn’t really have hobbies growing up. But I loved to hold the door open for someone, or pick a flower for someone who was sad. 

I didn’t do anything earth shattering. I didn’t start a foundation to help hungry kids, or behave in an entrepreneurial way with regard to my simple acts of kindness. There are some amazing kids out there doing so much for the world. I was definitely not among their ranks in that way.

As I moved more fully into adult life, I began to see the pattern. I began to see how I had, without realizing it, used that feeling I had as a child to guide me on the actions I chose to take as an adult. I realized that feeling was my “North Star.”

Many people know that the North Star is a celestial object navigators at sea would historically use to guide their ships to safe harbor. As a symbol, the North Star is a metaphor for that inner light which nudges us in our journey toward understanding our purpose.

I’m inviting you to consider what your purpose in life might be. Your “purpose” is not necessarily your job, it’s your calling. Now, if your job happens to be more of a vocation, rather than simply a place that gives you a paycheck in exchange for your time and talents, that might be an indicator of your deeper purpose.

This morning when I was doing my weekly segment on local radio, the host and I discussed what his purpose might be. He clearly has a gift for broadcasting. He has the right voice, he has the right attitude. I asked him what it was that motivated him. He told me his purpose was telling the truth.

That is an excellent North Star. 

Such a good purpose in life to tell the truth. And it can take so many forms, all of them potentially satisfying. He understood himself and what drives him. As a result, his employment will likely always be meaningful so long as it resonates with that overarching desire to tell the truth.

If he were to work for another news outlet for whom truth was only of passing interest, he would feel dissatisfied. He might even want to leave the profession if he felt there was no home for his desire to be honest. That feeling guides him and his choices in life.

Similarly, my childhood feeling that had no words has guided me in my choices. It has led me to create things like an after school music empowerment program, and eventually enter seminary and become a minister. Those actions resonate deeply with my childhood thought.

What is your purpose? You don’t have to know the answer right away. But you can check your feelings about the actions you take in life and see how they feel to you. Are you having a good time? If not, is the difficulty worth the effort? Does it resonate with who you are deep on the inside?

If you hate your job, for instance, remember that contrast breeds desire. What does your job make you desire? Get under the skin of it all to consider what makes you the most excited, or the most hopeless. There are answers in that line of question regarding your purpose.

Every nonprofit has a mission statement. That statement helps the nonprofit make its daily decisions. They only take action in ways that are in harmony with the mission. 

The same is true for you and your deepest feelings. Let them guide you. If you are unhappy in life examine that feeling. Dig at it like a scab you can’t stop picking at. Make it tell you what you need.

The answer is not out there. It is in you. Ask your purpose to reveal itself so that you may live the most fulfilling life imaginable. It will listen.