I read a Mark Twain quotation recently that made me stop and think: “The two most important days in your life are the day you were born, and the day you find out why.”
Since my birthday is in November (it’s actually on Thanksgiving Day this year) the day I was born has already been on my mind and I’ve been remembering childhood birthdays and some of the people who made them special for me, especially my Mom, and my Aunts Jennie and Rose. I was blessed to have been born into their family. Birthdays were times of celebration with good food and happy gifts that left me feeling loved and cared about. I see how that loving tradition influenced my self-concept, shaped my core values, and taught me how to live.
However, I have been given more than one day in my life when I understood why I was born. The day I taught my first college class at IUPUI I discovered that I loved teaching. During a bad auto accident that prompted a near death experience, I realized that giving and receiving love is what matters most. And each time I finished writing a new book and felt the excitement of its birth, it has affirmed for me how much my creative process is an expression of “why I was born.”
I am here to write, to teach, and to leave a legacy of love.
How about you? Want to try the quote on and see what comes up for you? What is the story of the day you were born, and what has that meant to you over the years? Who and what has shaped your life in the directions you have chosen? When did you discover your purpose? Are you still discovering it? How are you expressing it? Finally, complete this sentence, “I am here to …”
If you want to share with me your understanding of why you were born, feel free to reply to this blog and I will respond to you.
The joy of self-discovery is available to us every day of our lives. And the really exciting part is that we can change ourselves and renew ourselves as often as we need to, and want to. It is, after all, your life story and your life purpose.
