Your Special Purpose
Oh Steve Martin, you slay me! I would like to share a somewhat short story with you to illustrate how finding your very own Special Purpose can help guide you on a new quest or journey, assuming that is what you have been contemplating and you needed a little help, as I did, to get started.
I was lucky enough to find my "Special Purpose" in the third grade. One day in third grade our Teacher called in sick and we had a Substitute (Sub) Teacher. This Sub made the near fatal mistake of bringing her guitar into the classroom with her that day. Please remember, when I was in third grade, the world was a much different place...and man, I sometimes really miss that 'place'. Anyway, my classmates were acting like complete animals; unruly, out of their minds with hysteria...as grade school kids always are when there is a Sub. Now, to try and calm us down, this nice, sweet, soft spoken Teacher pulled out that guitar in hopes of placating us all with song. I think that just incensed the whole group all the more. While I sat there quietly in the back of the room observing my classmates and observing the tears streaming down the Sub's face, something in me, something deep down told me that I needed to do something about this situation, that I needed to "rescue" this person who did not deserve this pain, frustration, sadness, whatever it was that she was feeling and making her cry. And yes, I was really being quiet while anarchy ensued. I was a crazy kid but only with other kids, I was raised to respect adults and the only adults I ever challenged as a kid were my parents. But I digress.
Now this may sound corny but remember, I was in third grade and 7 years old at the time (started school when I was 4; late birthday). I raised my hand and said that I had a song to sing. She patronized me and I broke out in my terrible voice with, "I know a Substitute Teacher that didn't live in a shoe but she had so many children in her class that she didn't know what to do". There was a brief moment of silence and then outbursts of laughter filled the room. The Sub smiled wide, her dimples taking up her entire cheek. Her head fell slightly and her long, straight, frizzy 70's style (It was the 70's) hair fell with it. She lowered her raised knee and bell bottom jeans with homemade patchwork and stitching, dropped her guitar by her side, took a big sigh, raised her head and said, "Thank you"! Our class calmed down almost instantaneously and then we sang together the rest of the period.
Now I don't know what happened to me that day, all that I know is that I had a sense of myself. My sense was that I had a Special Purpose in this world and it wasn't to make people laugh, or to diffuse a situation, though I do both of those
things on a regular basis. I believe that my Special Purpose was and is to make people feel better about themselves and feel better emotionally in general. I am an obsessive complimenter, finding at least one good thing to say about someone, anyone. Now I have some other positive traits and sadly some negative traits (mostly OCD's) and I catch myself judging from time to time and do what I can to not to do that. But reflecting on my Special Purpose from time to time, reminds me what I should and want to be focused on and reminds me that I need to continue to nurture a sense of myself.
Having a sense of yourself (or your self) allows you to shape your own values, to consider what might be important to you or what might be important to the world. Subsequently, this awareness is the starting block for deciding what it is you want to do or what you were/are meant to do in this world and with this life if you are considering a new journey. I am only suggesting that you utilize self awareness and reflect on what it is that might be your Special Purpose so if you are not already you can inevitably 'do' what you were meant to do an 'do' what you truly want to do. The older I get the more I want to give back to the world that has been so good to me. My quest and journey has evolved over time but my Special Purpose so many years later remains the same and remains the cornerstone for my continued quests and new journey!