The Call to Purpose:
Living a Life Laced with Meaning
Dear Colleagues and Friends,
In celebration of the 10th anniversary year of this
newsletter, I have selected articles from over a
hundred issues written since 2003 to highlight in
the last months of 2013. Let me share with you
a few reasons why this month's selection on "The
Call to Purpose" was an easy, clear-cut choice.
First, the desire I hear expressed most often and
most fervently in my workshops by participants from
all walks of life and at various points in their
careers, is to find and follow their calling or
purpose and/or to help the people they serve to find
their own. This is not the least bit surprising as
I believe this to be an ancient longing at the core
of the human heart. As I write in the article,
"When we think about people we've known who were the
most content, who exude the most joy, and who model
the most wholesome and healthy lives, we see a
common thread among them - their time and talent was
spent for something beyond their own personal
welfare. Look more closely and we will find that
their time was not "spent" at all – it was
"invested", whether in a profession, for a cause, or
in the well-being of the people closest to their
hearts. People who have found a path of authentic
service in the world emanate a sense of deep
satisfaction and contentment that goes deeper than
what we think of as ordinary "happiness". I believe
that is a quality of joy that every human being
seeks – the joy of making a difference and leaving a
legacy for others to follow."
And while I believe this to be a fundamental desire,
it remains for many, if not most, to be a most
elusive goal. I don't believe that coming into
one's purpose is elusive by nature, but more as a
result of our faulty thinking. The spirit of the
selected article is to demystify some of the most
persistent myths about what it means to find one's
purpose. With a new perspective of what it means to
take control of the daily power to bring our own
sense of purpose to whatever it is we are doing, we
can listen for the call of everyday living, while
remaining open to Life's ongoing and mysterious
invitations to purpose. It was the writing of this
article that put me in new relationship with my own
sense of calling, as I began to view it as my daily
responsibility to find, hone and declare my purpose
for that day, one day at a time, sometimes one hour
at a time. This simple practice has had more
profound effects on my life and work than I could
ever fully describe or do justice to. I am so happy
to revisit these insights and to share them with you
once again!
Finally, I cannot count the number of people through
the years who have made mention of this article,
expressing appreciation for an upgraded perspective
on purpose and the use of the prompts that follow
the article. Like the breadcrumbs Hansel and Gretel
dropped through the forest to find their way back
home, we too have been leaving breadcrumbs leading
back to our purposes. Have fun responding to those
prompts yourself and seeing where they lead!
With much love and gratitude,
~ Denise
You can read Denise’s new article, in PDF format:
The Call to Purpose:
Living a Life Laced with Meaning
We welcome your comments and feedback on this
article!
Please consider sending us your opinions,
perspectives, experiences or related resources on
this topic. Unless you specify otherwise, your
comments and contact information may be
edited/published in a future edition of the True
Livelihood Newsletter.
Email your comments on this article... TLN@denisebissonnette.com
Read Denise's
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