“Nothing is as real as a dream. The world can change around you, but your dream will not. Responsibilities need not erase it. Duties need not obscure it. Because the dream is within you, no one can take it away.” —Unknown

Are you living the life that you dreamed of?  Are you living the life that you truly desire?  How many of you have ever felt at one time or another that there was something more for you?  You might not have known what it was, but you knew it had to be more than showing up everyday to a job that didn’t fulfill you.  You knew it was more than running errands, paying bills, fighting through traffic, grocery shopping, etc.   Well, there is something more for you to do.  You were designed to fulfill your purpose in this world – whatever that may be for you.   Finding Your Purpose Maybe you are one of those people who were fortunate enough to have always known what you were born to do and took the steps to make it happen, and you are living your dream.  However, if you are like a lot of people, you might still being trying to figure out what you were meant to do, and that’s okay.  While you are in the process of finding your purpose, it is important for you to pay attention to what speaks to your heart and brings you personal gratification.  Pay attention to what brings you joy.  Maybe you felt it when you’ve shown kindness to someone or when you’ve imparted knowledge to someone on a complicated matter.  Maybe it was when you sang a song or it could have been through your writing.  That could very well be your purpose – to show kindness, to teach, to sing or to write.  Pay close attention to the common thread of what’s at the heart of your desires.  Ask yourself why you want to do, be or have the things that you desire.  Your motives, as long as they are honest, will guide you towards your purpose.   I think I’ve always known since I was a little girl that I wanted to help people when I grew up.  I can recall when I was around nine or ten years old, these missionaries from Africa would visit our church in Freehold once a year.  After hearing of their stories of how they helped the children in Africa, I dreamed of going on the mission field in Africa as soon as I got old enough.

Then when I got a little older, my parents took in two little foster girls.  I then decided that I wanted to be a case worker, but I was more interested in helping the parents of those kids that ended up in foster care.  I was always curious about how their lives had ended up to the point that they were separated from their children.   Then somewhere around high school age, I noticed that people would come to me with their problems, even if I couldn’t really offer any help.  I mentioned this to someone at the time.  She said it was because I was a good listener.  I remember I used to get this really good feeling when someone came to talk to me and I could offer them help.  I wasn’t sure where my desires would lead me, but I knew whatever I did, it had to be helping others.   When Life Takes A Detour I read a quote before that said “life is what happens after you’ve made other plans”.  And life has a way of coming at you fast.  Before I even gave it much thought, I was working and living my life.  I moved out of my parent’s house.  I acquired bills and responsibilities, and I tucked my dream of helping others neatly on a shelf and forgot all about it.   My forgotten dream would occasionally surface, and I would be reminded of my desire to help others, but it would soon get pushed aside by the cares of life.

This rings true for a lot of us.  We are often taught to survive, not to live on purpose.  We fall into a life oftentimes by chance.  We pick jobs that we sometimes spend 25 years at based on income.  We select life partners without considering whether they are in alignment with our purpose.  We unconsciously make life-altering decisions that seemingly take us away from our purpose instead of moving us towards it. We must all be about the business of life, but you should be mindful not to confuse life with being on the path to our purpose or dream.  If not, you’ll only receive temporary satisfaction from the things you do when they don’t align with your purpose.   Whatever the case may be that has taken you on a detour.  Whether it was a misfortune that took you off track or because of choices you made, all does not have to be lost.