What is your life purpose?
“A loving person lives in a loving world. A hostile person lives in a hostile world.
Everyone you meet is your mirror.”
– Ken Keyes
Our eyes are the mirrors to our soul. And our world. The world that we see and believe we live in is dependent upon our perception of the world. If we come from a place of love-first and foremost loving toward ourselves-then we see the world around us with love. We live a life we love (or are at least working towards this) because we love the life we live. Simply put: we are love personified. But, if we come from a place of fear (the what if they don’t like me,what if I never find “the one,” what if I get fat…) we live from that fear. We find reasons (i.e. excuses) why our dreams can’t happen. We give up before we start. We tell ourselves untruths and live out these stories.
This month I’ve been talking about having the best year ever in my intenSati classes and that in order for us to have the best year ever, we have to have the best day ever, every single day. Having the best day ever doesn’t mean everything falls into place. Though it might. It doesn’t mean we hit the lottery, lose those last stubborn five pounds, or get the job of our dreams. Though we could. Having the best day ever means being willing to surrender the fear of“what IF this isn’t the best day ever?” Having the best day ever means letting go of our expectations of how that day should look. If we truly want to have the best day ever, we need to look toward that day with possibility, with an open mind and heart. Someone with an open mind and heart is a messenger of love, a person who sets an intention or commits to a promise while opening up to the possibility of whatever comes their way, knowing life is happening FOR them, rather than TO them.
And this is where the magic comes in…are you ready? Want to know the secret to having YOUR best day ever?
To have YOUR best day ever…help someone else have their best day ever.
Yes. It’s really as simply as that.
Life operates around a general principle: What we give is what we get. No matter what. But being of service isn’t just about holding doors and buying strangers’ coffee. BE-ing of service means coming from a place of love. As Melody Beattie says, “Gentle service comes from the heart.”
Our life IS service. How we live, who we choose to be in each moment IS service. When we commit to our growth and following our hearts, we show others change is possible and courage isn’t nearly as scary as it seems. When we commit to gratitude and joy in all of life’s lessons, we show others that not only is life change, but that change is necessary for our growth. When we commit to vulnerability, sharing who we are and what we’re going through, we open up our hearts to others and in return soften their hearts. Are YOU ready to live with love and be of service?
If I asked you, right now, “What is YOUR life purpose?” What would you tell me? Do you know?
I ask you to consider this question for two reasons. One, I believe it’s vital to have a life purpose (even if it’s a working one that changes along with your growth and evolution) because that purpose enables us to continue to show up with tenacious commitment to living life. If you’re not quite sure what your life purpose is, think about what matters most to you: what makes you happy? What do you want to see more of in the world? What are your talents and gifts? These questions will be a surefire sign of your purpose. Remember, purpose is something cultivated within you and then shared with others.
The second reason I ask you to consider this question is this: if you struggle with identifying your life purpose or feel a disconnect with the one you’ve identified, chances are you are coming from the place of fear, rather than love; from the place that says, Who are you to think you can share your gift with others? You have nothing worthy of sharing.
From the age of six I knew instinctively I was going to be a teacher. I wanted to be someone who taught, uplifted, inspired. My desire was reinforced as I went through schooling, having several teachers who profoundly impacted my life. I graduated from college and taught high school English for five years and now, as most of you have come to know me, teach fitness classes. I have always had an inner knowing that I was good at what I did. Much like my writing, I believed there was some talent in my teaching. But underneath that knowing, I didn’t love myself. In fact, up until the past two and a half years, my whole life was a fear-based untruth. And here’s the problem with living in fear but trying to live my life’s purpose: The real purpose of life is love. The real purpose of life is to simply realize and remember who you REALLY are. Who you are beyond conditioning, untruths and assumed identities. And to BE that. Fully. It was only when I started to love and accept myself, fully love myself-not twenty pounds less or five workouts more-that I realized I was living my life’s purpose.
This upcoming week is National Eating Disorders Awareness week. If you’ve taken class with me for a while, chances are you’ve heard an intro or two about my eating disorder. It’s no surprise that this week is important to me. It’s a week to raise awareness about a silent epidemic. It’s a week that reminds me of how far I’ve come in battling my relationship with food and my body. And it’s a week that whether or not you have been labeled as disordered, serves as a reminder to choose LOVE. To love your body. Every inch of it. To honor and respect all that you are. All the gifts and talents you possess. To remember who you REALLY are. And that you have so much to share with this world.
This Wednesday I will be teaching intenSati at Temple University in honor of NEDA week. I am honored and grateful to share my story. I am beyond blessed to share this amazing practice with others, a practice that has enabled me to step into full realization of my life purpose. If you want to live a life on purpose, if you are ready to saturate yourself with love, if you are willing to remember who you REALLY are and celebrate that person, please join me for “workout Wednesday” THIS Wednesday. We’re celebrating that Health is Our Wealth and when we make ourselves our number one priority, when we choose to live with love, we choose to live a life on purpose and with purpose.
Today, choose to have the #bestdayever by simply remembering that each moment you are alive is purpose. Choose to live that moment with love. Stop seeking. Start loving who you REALLY are.