Having a purpose

“Papa, what is the purpose of schools?” Daisy, our eight-year old daughter asked this past week. It wasn’t so much her choice of words that struck me, but the look on her face. It was as though she’d thought about it for some time, trying to understand herself the point of a school and whether her school actually understood what it was there for. My reply was simply “They are places of learning.” Her response was soundless, but the look on her face said “And your point being?” After that, we both fell silent.

I met up with a friend this week for lunch. And, as usual, we went for a walk around the local park. We hadn’t seen each other for at least a month, so we had lots to catch up on. During our chatter, she recalled me once saying that I should like to know my purpose in life i.e. what I was brought on this earth to do. And recently, she has also wondered what her purpose was. This question came to mind because she is very spiritual, like myself, but her job is in accounting and finance. And she was questioning why, if she is a spiritual person, did she first study and is now working in Finance where her work is completely unrelated to spirituality.  Mine too in fact and so initially, I thought she made a good point. But actually I think we might both be missing it.

You see, I eat and drink, not to work, nor to achieve my spiritual quest, but to nourish my body so that I may work, which then provides a living which enables me to continue my spiritual quest. In fact, I think the real reason why my friend works where she does is because of the people she interacts with. Just like I do. And through these interactions, we are able to bring our spirituality not only into our lives but also into the lives of others. Because, as many of our friends realise, we both try and make a difference to a great number of people.

In an earlier blog I recounted a situation where I felt obliged to do something that I didn't want to, but having done it, I made it work for me. And in fact, that’s how this blog was born. My point here is that there is a reason for everything we do and everyone we interact with, for we are all parts of something much bigger which, perhaps, we can only see (and make sense of), from a greater height. And if we were to look down upon our lives from 5,000 feet, we would see what looks like an army of ants, doing different, but similar things, in orderly ways and from various directions, but all working together towards a single and sometimes shared, goal. If one falters or drops something, others rush to their assistance.   

Now to some it may seem depressing that we appear to be no more than ants. But, you know, I'm happy to live in my world, which is a world where there is learning in every encounter and we can all make a difference if we wish. And if we falter, well, there is always someone to pick us up.  This is particularly so in our schools and workplace, where, when we mess up, our teachers or bosses or colleagues or friends are always there to listen and to help. I always believe that having this someone to talk to is important. And if you haven’t found this person yet, well maybe you just aren’t looking, but the chances are that you are already that person to someone else.