DZUKANI: Online book (one chapter per week) Chapter 5 "Why are we here?"

If you missed chapter four you can find it here...

At the end of chapter one, I discussed the role and nature of consciousness and of life:

“Consciousness is intelligent and becomes increasingly so as life evolves. In fact, its very essence is to continue to create the universe. And, with its ability to observe itself doing so, it is reasonable to assume that this is its very purpose:

To participate in the joyful act of creation and to do so in shared consciousness with all that is”

If we believe this (or something similar in our own words) to be so, and if we are simply a manifestation of the flow of consciousness that unites all things, then I see no other conclusion than that this mission in bold italics above, is indeed the reason why we are here.

We are here to co-create the universe

We are here to co-create the universe, not single-handed but in shared consciousness with all that is. We, and all of life, are part of the one creative consciousness. And when some people speak of being children of God, aren’t they simply saying the same thing in another way?

If this all sounds rather grand and far-fetched, take a good look around. Whatever it is that gets done in this world, it never ever happens as the result of one person. If we think expansively, we see that other people and a whole eco-system combines to achieve the results we witness. This is why we are here, to find our unique role to create a better future by attending to what is going on in “our world” in the way we are best able.

Of course, within this magnificent purpose, we each have many sub purposes, unique to who we are and the way we see our context. These may well relate to our families, our role in society, our careers, and our personal interests. We hinted at all of these in earlier chapters and we have already done enough work to have a real handle on why we are here.

Activity

If someone was to ask you “Why are you here?” in a deep and sincere manner, what would you say?

It’s not something that happens every day, but it is something to be very clear about because consciously and subconsciously the answer we give will steer the decisions we make throughout our lives. The very act of writing down our answer to this big question and perhaps carrying it with us in our notebook or on our phone serves as a powerful compass. 

In my own life, I have found that the more clarity I have on such matters, the more I find myself saying an unequivocal “yes” when people ask me to get involved in certain projects or activities.

And so, our lives progressively become purposeful, wonderfully rewarding and delightful.

Several answers will be equally correct

I’d like to say something here about how we answer a question, especially one as potentially profound as “Why are you here?” 

I know it’s obvious, but if a shopkeeper was to ask us this question as we walked in their shop, an answer relating to our desire to co-create the universe, would probably be highly inappropriate. But the point is this - the way we answer any question should take account of the context in which it is asked, by whom and what their intention or need was when they asked it.

For example, if one of my five children had asked me this when they were young, I probably would have answered in terms relating to loving them and our family. It would be an honest answer and a considered part of my purpose in life. I may also have added other aspects of my purpose in life simply to get them to think expansively and maybe about their own role in life. I may even in that context have added something that isn’t explicit in my list of priorities such as “and to learn something new every single day”. This is actually something I try to do but it isn’t quite high enough in my consciousness to “make the list”. Though maybe it should be? Imagine how my life would change if it was.

(post-script: a few days after writing this, I did indeed add “learning” to my list of personal value that I always carry with me and use for my life-plan)

Anyway, I think you get the point. Just as we have many purposes in life, there are many ways to answer this question. As we can see from this, another way of answering the question is “to deliver my purpose in life”.

Purpose as a conscious filter

The opposite is also true. Knowing why we’re here also informs the things we’d prefer to avoid – those things that deplete our energy or waste our time. Put simply, knowing why we’re here helps us to know why we’re not here!

Knowing our strengths (as in the earlier activity) also informs us about our weaknesses. For example, I know that administration for me is a weakness. Even keeping my family filing system up to date takes extraordinary effort. It literally “does my head in”. 

I happen to know, from my studies of the subjects of competence, talent and strength, that there are good neurological reasons for this. If, by a young age, we haven’t practiced a particular task or related tasks sufficiently, our brain works out that there is little need for the associated neurones, and they wither. I understand that is why some tasks literally give us a headache and others (where our neurones have developed into super-highways) give us such joy when they are used – like me writing this book right now!

These insights have helped me to avoid roles that would simply not serve me or the world. In a past life I was a Rugby coach (which I loved) and when that role was over, I was encouraged to take on secretarial duties. Needless to say, I didn’t respond positively. 

In my view, too many people volunteer for work that they later come to hate because they felt they had to out of some sense of duty. Don’t get me wrong, duty is a noble thing and there are times we simply have to do things but many more times we would serve the world better by declining such invitations by admitting it is not our strength and perhaps sharing the sort of things we could do that did play to our strengths.

Activity

Think back over the last few days, weeks or months and make a note of the things that drained your time and energy. Make a list of your top five or so. What action could you take right now to stop these things happening again?

Serendipity

My dictionary defines this lovely word as follows:

the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way

I really do believe that clarity of purpose leverages serendipity. It reminds me of a time, in November 2015, just after the United Nations had agreed the Sustainable Development Goals in New York. I was walking towards Harlow Carr Gardens in Harrogate with John Campbell, the founder of Primeast where I have practiced as a leadership coach for about twenty years. He and I were discussing the SDGs when John received a phone call from Phil Clothier, CEO of Barrett Values Centre (and mentioned in an earlier chapter). All I heard from John was “He’s with me now…” and “I’ll ask him.”

John explained that Phil had requested our help to facilitate a Youth Action Summit at the UN in New York in just a few days time. We agreed that it sounded great but also that the chance of both our diaries being clear at such short notice was remote to say the least. We checked and, incredibly, we were both free.

We attended the UN and one of the things we did was teach an audience of about 500 young leaders a method of taking the SDGs “to every young person on the planet”. That case study is in “Designing the Purposeful World” and I make the slides and a facilitator guide available to anyone that wants it. Just ask.

Throughout my career, and especially in the last twenty years or so, every time I take action in alignment with my purposes, good things seem to happen, and the road ahead becomes clearer.

Planned happenstance

My wife Frances is a careers advisor and for many years has taught the principle of “planned happenstance” to support young people in their careers. 

Activity

If this is a new term, you can read more about planned happenstance in this article from the London School of Economics:

 https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/careers/2019/04/30/how-planned-happenstance-can-help-your-career/

One of the things Frances frequently mentioned totally resonates with me – we should take ourselves to the places or engage with material that resonates with our career choices and life purpose. This has worked so well for me throughout my career, especially with regard to attending conferences and simply visiting places that have special meaning to me.

With regard to the latter, a good example is my connection to Malawi. I visited this African country after doing some fundraising for the Open Arms Infant Homes there. It’s a long story that I tell more thoroughly in my previous books, but suffice to say here, that the trip led to Primeast establishing a business there and even today I’m getting involved with local people to establish a project to reforest areas for climate change mitigation. All because I’ve consciously followed the energy of my purpose.

Activity

Look over the notes you have made in your previous activities, particularly those to do with your priorities, purpose, values and strengths. For each of your priorities, think of one place you could visit (eg a conference, a town, a country, a friend, an organisation etc) that just might create possibilities to enhance your life journey. Don’t think too much about the potential outcomes, just trust the process. Make commitments in your notes and make arrangements in your diary whilst these are fresh in your mind. Come back and add to your notes after your visits.

I hope this chapter has given you some clues as to why you are on this planet and some practical tips on strengthening your sense of purpose and deepening your life journey.

Chapter review

1.    What are the three most powerful insights you will take away from this chapter?

2.    What are the three most powerful questions you will continue to explore?

3.    What would you like me to explore with you as I continue to write this book?

I would be delighted to hear from you with your responses to these questions.

In the next chapter, I will be asking the consequential next big question, “What does the road ahead look like?”