Sometimes we get so focused on our future calling that we miss out on our present purpose

Living with purpose is not a question of finding one particular meaning, one overarching truth that defines existence for every living person. It is personal. It is working hard to provide for your loved ones, or pursuing a personal goal that matters. Purpose in life is variable, but can be found by every person, in every circumstance.

“It’s not about finding the right balance between the meaningful and the meaningless. It’s about perspective. It’s about recognizing that all work is meaningful.”

Sometimes it’s as simple as remembering why you do the things you do. Every morning, the sound of an alarm clock and the taste of a bitter cup of coffee may seem mundane and empty. 

But there is something profound in the realization that your actions serve a greater purpose: the passion for the work you do, or the love for the family that is fed and clothed by the money made. Living with purpose is the acknowledgment of meaning in the seemingly mundane. It is seeing that each of us has a unique purpose and a place in the lives we live.

Like all complex questions, the question of living with purpose has a complex answer. It is not a simple solution, but reduced to its simplest form, it implies a life of intentionality: a life of recognition of our power to choose, to define the meaning in our lives each and every day. We do not live our lives by happenstance, and we are far more than victims of circumstance.

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.”-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Even the most oppressive circumstances leave us free to choose our way, the freedom to find meaning in any of the limitless places it can be found. Perhaps the beauty of the question is that there isn’t any one answer, only the freedom to choose our answers for ourselves.

https://medium.com/@ericsamuelchapman/living-with-purpose-finding-meaning-in-the-mundane-5c49f40ac0d7