Have you ever wondered why you are here in this particular life?–not in another more perfect one? Do you wish you could have a better career, relationship or life experiences?
Or do you sometimes think that everything that happens to you is just a random occurrence? When you run into difficulties in your circumstances or even within your self, do you ask, “Why me?”
For most people, life isn’t so easy. It’s complicated and filled with up-times and down-times. Rarely, does anything just stay as we want it to be all the time. So, when problems come up, when we experience disappointments, loss, illness or other kinds of hardships, we can easily be knocked “off course,” lose heart, maybe even give up.
In my experience, being grounded in the sense of something greater than just our little local selves and having a sense that there is a greater Purpose at work, makes all the difference in the world.
When you look at the definition of the word “journey” in the dictionary, it has two main meanings:
1) “A traveling from one place to another, usually taking a rather long time.”
2) “Passage or progress from one stage to another: the journey to success.”
On this blog I am talking about the second definition. What if we were to see our lives as an opportunity to learn and experience what is really important?–things, such as love, peace, compassion, justice, freedom, beauty. What if we were to see our lives and what happens to us as having a purpose, a meaning? What if we were to see all of this as our particular journey, that we go through certain important life passages and that we progress from one stage to another?
In my experience, seeing life from this perspective changes everything. One of my teachers whom I deeply admire, is Jean Houston, PhD, a world-class author and leader of incredible workshops. In her work she takes people on a journey of self-discovery, of growth in all aspects of our being: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.
Jean loves to talk about the “entelechy” of things. This refers to the essence or purpose of a person or a thing that is unfolding and what it is becoming. For example, the entelechy of an acorn is to become an oak tree. The entelechy of a caterpillar is to become a butterfly. As Jean Houston would say, I believe it is the entelechy of a human being to “listen to the call of the Much More,” and “to become your essence.”
When you open up and dive into this kind of journey, suddenly, troubles become opportunities to grow, deepen and change. The directions you choose have a sense of coming from an authentic and an important place. The choices you make begin to serve the larger purpose of your life. You tap into more energy, passion, joy, and optimism. Your life and everything in it becomes worthwhile.
Would you like to “take the plunge,” find out what your purpose or calling is, be pro-active in your own personal journey? If this interests you, sign up for my newsletter and blog posts or my RSS feed, and we’ll take this journey together.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Jeanne that is a fantastic view on life. I love looking at the bigger picture and you have definitely captured this in your post. It gives me a sense of relief to know that there is a greater purpose and we dont have to know what that is, just let go and let it be revealed – beautiful
Jeanne, The entelechy of our Tribe is to be authentic and to offer each other support and assistance.
On a personal level, it is my goal to help other like minded entrepreneurs on their journey of learning and growth. This is an awesome journey—one that I’m honored to share with you!
Matt, thanks so much for your comments. I’m glad to know you like looking at the big picture, too.
Darlene, love your comment about the entelechy of our Tribe. I’m glad we are making this journey together in such a great group.
Hi Jeanne
Awesome post! Very profound
The classic example of having to work through one stage before being able to get to the next stage, is babies. They don’t just get up and start walking (thank goodness!). They have to develop the strength and coordination to be able to sit up, roll over, crawl then finally, walk. They can’t move to the next stage until the previous one has been achieved.
We all have more potential than can possibly be imagined – literally each and every person on this earth, if only everyone could see that.
And I agree with you that love, peace, compassion, justice, freedom, beauty plus more, are more important than so many other things that ultimately, we all get caught up in believing are very important.
I do believe that everything happens for a reason (both good and bad) and that there are lessons to be learned from each and every experience (so long as you’re open enough to that). Viewing “not so good things” as challenges rather than problems is a good way to start (easier said than done sometimes, but it’s all about perspective, isn’t it?).
We are all where we are at any given point in time because it’s the right place to be (as hard and all as that can be to accept at times).
Keep up the great work and I’m looking forward to reading what you’ve got for us next
~ Kylie ~
Kylie, Thank you for so many lovely comments on my post. I’m so glad we’re having this conversation.
Many good wishes,
Jeanne
I’m reminded of the work of Dr. Robert Maurer, a researcher out of UCLA. Bob likes to study groups of studies; he reviews and compares data from unrelated studies and comes up with new perspectives and ideas. He once did a study of the nature of success based upon the criteria of three elements: good health, work you enjoy, and loving relationships. If you have these three things, you are living a successful life.
Side note in regard to entelechy – the art of becoming: One of the studies Maurer observed followed the lives of hundreds of families over the course of 25 years. A segment of the study contained families with significant challenges: poverty, drug addiction, etc. Some children in that segment grew up to lead successful lives. Bob looked for correlating data – what did those “successful” people have in common. He found only one correlating piece of data: at some point in their youth, somebody significant believed in them.
I hope more parents and teachers get the word and do their part to improve the entelechy of the children in their care. (I hope I used the word in proper context.)
Awesome Journey post Jeanne. It is true, life is all about experiencing ‘the good’ as well as the ‘not so good’. And once we adopt the perspective of looking for & finding the positive in the ‘not so good’ we can come to terms with the reason for it or the lesson that was behind it much quicker, freeing us & allowing us to be on our way to enjoy the next thing that life has for us
Matt, I enjoyed your comments and added information. And, you brought up a good point regarding recognition and support.
Just as an acorn needs water, nutrients, sunlight, the right climate, to become an oak tree, so do children–and adults, as well–need to matter to others. The more the true nature of a person is encouraged, nurtured, brought forth and mirrored back to us, the farther we can go.
Being connected to the right “community” (even if that is just one person) is a key ingredient for most of us. So, I encourage people to find high quality fellow travelers, teachers and guides to help them stretch, grow and deepen. As we evolve, we can, in turn, give to those who are coming along “behind us.”
Thank you for being part of my community,
Jeanne
Hi Jeanne,
This is a really lovely post. It is great to look at the bigger picture and have a sense of why we are here and to make sure we have A LOT of fun along the way.
Thanks Jeanne,
Sally
Sally Bath´s last blog ..No Barriers
Hi, Sally,
Thanks for the comment–especially liked your reminder to have fun along the way.
Jeanne
Jeanne, I so agree with your philosophy of life. I look forward to reading your future blogs.
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Lovely ideas, I am going through a very difficult and unexpected transition in my life right now. It is very unsettling to feel lost and realize that while I know its time to find help and get my life back on course. The question is what course?
I know things end up working out. Life is kind, I just want to be more proactive. I’m new to blogging so I don’t know if this discussion is appropriately placed.