A Sense of Purpose

Devarapalli Prakash Rao, Madurai Chinna Pillai and Saalumarada Thimmakka.?

Do these names ring a bell in you?

Devarapalli Prakash Rao is a tea seller in Odisha, India, providing education and food to slum children - set up a school from his own income generated over 50 years. Madurai Chinna Pillai is a farmer who pioneered micro-finance in Tamil Nadu, India through her Kalanjiam movement. Saalumarada Thimmakka, who single-handedly planted thousands of trees over 65 years in Karnataka, India, taking care of them as her own children.?

All these three gentle souls have steadfastly worked for a cause, served selflessly, and are unassuming to the core.?Incidentally, all three are ‘Padma’ award winners, one of India’s top and prestigious civilian awards.

Many amongst us, yours truly included, encounter moments in our lives when we are torn between retreating to the safety of the known and the possibilities of the unknown - between comfort and contribution; between feeling secure and serving for a cause; between seeking the ‘stereotype’ admiration and feeling good vs. risking status and doing good.

Employee engagement surveys have consistently found that a large majority of people go to work each day pushed along more by inertia than inspiration, almost as though on auto-pilot.

If reports have to be believed, the pandemic has caused many people to reflect on their purpose in life.?Many employees, more so Millennials, are giving a rethink on the kind of work they do – to spend the best hours of their days and best years of their lives, in the best possible manner.

Of course, it’s easy to get caught in the trap of thinking we don’t have any choice.?It’s a convenient rationalization that spares us the inconvenience of making a change.?

People who have dared to cross and who have connected to a purpose tend to be happier, more contented, enjoy richer relationships and are more resilient in the face of adversity than those who haven’t. More often than not, they tend to be far more inspiring.

Tokyo 2020 Silver Medalist in javelin throw, Maria Andrejczyk is from Poland. She came across the story of Miloszek Malysa, an eight-month-old baby, native of Poland, who needed a life-saving surgery at the Stanford University Medical Center, for a serious heart ailment.?The infant’s family was running a fundraiser for the nearly USD 400K surgery. Maria, who herself had braved cancer and bounced back to win the Olympic Silver Medal, decided to auction her prized possession to raise funds for the infant’s cause. Polish convenience store chain Zabka Polska was the winner with a bid of USD 125K. After the close of the auction, Zabka had a grand gesture of its own as it said it would let Andrejczyk keep the medal.

German physician Albert Schweitzer had once said, “I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve.”

It’s a fact that not all of us are cut out for dedicating our lives to a larger cause.?But as Mike Drak says, “Having a sense of?purpose?is something we all need until our last breath.”?