Discovering purpose

ON PURPOSE

What is the life which most of us lead every day? Basically, it consists of actions to earn enough resources to enable us to acquire things which we want. We want to acquire these things because we expect that through them we will have the sensory experiences which we desire to have.
Since we are driven by our wants and since we cannot fulfill all the wants, we should audit our wants carefully with reference to a check-list and accept a commitment to fulfill only.those which pass this audit. Actions decided upon in this systematic manner will be greatly empowering because everytime we want any thing, we will have made it a habit to ask ourselves these questions:
· What experience am I looking for?
· Do I need this experience?
· Will it make me happy in the long run?
· Keeping in view that my time-resource is limited, can I afford the investment of the necessary time?
· What other activity/experience will I have to forego to be able to afford this? Is such a sacrifice acceptable?
· Am I making a wise choice, over-all?
· A good way of knowing what want we should select and why, is by knowing our purpose in life:
· A purpose is not a goal; for a goal is something that is reached. A purpose is only a direction. We use our purpose to set our course in life.
· A purpose is never achieved; it is fulfilled in each moment that we are "on purpose." When we are "on course," we are on "purpose."
· A purpose is not created. We already have a purpose; we have to discover it. We have always had a purpose and it has always been the same. Our purpose for the remainder of our lifetime remains the same.
When we become consciously aware of our purpose, it's easier to choose actions and our goals and reach them. The litmus test of any action is simply to ask the question: "Does this action fulfill my purpose?" The answer may be yes or no and we always have the option of choosing whether we want the action or not. But it is always wise to remember that there is a certain value to being ‘on purpose.’ Once we discover this value through the practice of staying on course, we will always act to fulfill our ‘purpose.’
How do we discover our purpose? If we listen carefully, we will hear or sense a voice inside ourselves. It's the voice of our inner teacher. We must train ourselves to listen to it. Amidst all the din of the other voices in there, the inner teacher reminds us constantly: "I am here, very close to you. I'm your friend and I love you. If you listen to me, I can guide you." We have to listen to this teacher if we want to lead a purposeful life.
It is necessary to seek this guide; a navigator cannot steer course without a compass and a knowledge of the destination to reach. Religion/philosophy is the book of instruction which assists us in this seeking.