Life Purpose | The World According to Wendy

While out on my morning walk, my mind turned towards a book I had read over the summer, On Writing by Stephen King. The book was in essence a memoir and writing course crafted as insightfully and engaging as you would expect from the renowned author. Among the many valuable takeaways, there was one in particular that I cannot seem to get off my mind.

“I distrust plot for two reasons,” says King, “first, because our lives are largely plotless, even when you add in all our reasonable precautions and careful planning; and second, because I believe plotting and spontaneity of real creation aren’t compatible.” “My basic belief about the making of stories is that they pretty much make themselves. The job of the writer is to give them a place to grow.”

To me, this says it all. Not just about writing a good story, but about how we live and more accurately create our lives. It is a basic principle to the success of manifesting our soul’s purpose.

I am currently at a crossroads (middle age, empty nest). I have been occupied lately by not only reviewing my life to date (what I did well, what I could have done differently), but also with the challenge of creating a plan for the next half, one that will maximize my remaining time here on Earth.

I have spent countless hours envisioning and planning, looking at finances, measuring my strengths and weaknesses, honing in on my dreams and wishes, and running different scenarios.

It has been hard to settle on one plan.

There are so many ways things could go wrong. I could change my mind. My circumstances could shift. The world could throw another curve ball. All of these uncertainties have stalled my movement.

I am beginning to think that my problem could be in the plot.

Maybe I don’t need to have it all figured out before I begin. Maybe if I focus on where I want to end up and my most important values and create a loving and nurturing place for them to grow, I will end up somewhere extraordinary. And the journey will always be exciting and fun because its direction will evolve. There will be unexpected twists and surprises and I may get further than I would have had I tried to plan it all myself. My life may be fuller and more meaningful if I allow the guidance of something greater in.

King wrote most of his best selling novels in this fashion. He showed up every day, put in the time (and much talent of course), and let the grace of his genius come forward.

I intend to heed the words of the great writer and apply them to my personal journey. I am going to put my end vision out there and set the intention for creativity, adventure, magic, health, and love. I am going to create an environment that is nurturing and conducive to growth, and I am going to let go of the details and allow my life’s purpose to guide the way.

Even before the pandemic hit, I had been trying to discover my life’s purpose. Why am I here? What am I meant to do? I can remember (as far back as my teenage years) feeling that I was meant to do something important during my time here on earth. I began to pursue different options in my 20s, but then, like many people, my focus turned to finding a partner and starting a family. I knew I wanted to have children. That was a certainty.

My family life was traditional. My husband worked long hours while I managed the house and our two girls. We were busy. Between gymnastics meets, crew regattas, music lessons, schoolwork, meal planning and home management, my time and energy were pretty tapped. I added a part time massage business when my younger daughter was 5 and this satisfied some of my yearning. However, I knew it wasn’t enough, and although I received immense joy from raising children, I felt there was something else waiting for me.

I am now in my 50s. My girls are out in the world beginning their own lives and I have found myself staring into the future, knowing that the possibilities are endless, but also feeling myself frozen in old habits and uncertainty. Midlife is a challenging time of transition, loss, and redesign. Yet, it also offers a broad spectrum of possibilities and another chance to uncover the reasons why we are here. There is an entire new chapter of life waiting to be written.

During the recent quarantine, I have had time to reflect on where I’ve been and where I want to go. With the world in enormous flux and a massive state of upheaval, discovering my soul’s path seems that much more urgent.

I have been thinking about a way to realize my life’s purpose while also helping others reach theirs. I have been studying and testing a number of modalities and approaches over the years and feel that now is the time to put them into a comprehensive package ready for implementation and action.

I see myself as a Life Purpose Facilitator of sorts with the objective of helping individuals identify their life’s mission and then begin to remove blocks that prevent them from moving forward.

I envision myself attracting those who have an inner gnawing and strong desire to uncover a hidden or under developed life purpose. This journey can begin at any age, though I see a particular need for middle aged men and women going through their “second birth.”

A couple of weeks ago, I put together a program that I can carry out online through a weekly zoom meeting. I decided to offer it to 5-10 volunteers free of charge once a week for one month as a way to practice, revise, and refine the service. I sent out a letter to my past and present massage clients and the response was affirming.

I am now halfway through the month-long trial and it is going extremely well. I am offering a holistic, natural approach to soul purpose discovery combining tarot, energy healing (distance Reiki, chakra healing), dream interpretation, and flower essence therapy. These are all modalities I have studied over the years for personal growth and am now thrilled to be able to share them with others. It is encouraging to observe the insights and breakthroughs that are already beginning to happen with my clients.

The Life Purpose Project, as I am calling it, is the perfect convergence of many areas of interest and study. Everything about it feels right. I have a sturdy base of knowledge with much to learn (all of which is inspiring and intriguing), and although I’m not sure exactly where it will lead, I can tell that I am on the right path. What a surprising irony, that my own life purpose would be to help others find theirs.