I love Oprah. I love the topic of spiritual development. I devour books on living my highest self. But the more I speak to women around the world, the more I find myself wondering:
Are we being peer pressured into questioning our lives?
“Find yourself,” “Live your purpose,” “Go on the quest and search for your divine destiny.”
That’s great advice, and you should absolutely ask yourself the tough questions. Ask yourself “Am I happy? Am I truly happy with what I have and where I am?” But here’s the thing- its OK if the answer to that is “yes!”
Sometimes I worry that the heightened conversation about “purpose” tricks us into thinking we shouldn’t be content and causes us to dismiss the value of our current reality. Sure, there are women every where with big dreams and secret rooms in their soul that house their dual purpose. Notice I said “dual” not “greater.”
I just want to tell you that you are enough. There seems to be a warped perception about “purpose” going on; one that says if you don’t feel pulled to go on an Eat,Pray, Love type of quest that you must be missing something. It’s tricked us into thinking that we shouldn’t be content. Ask yourself the tough questions. at least ASK. But if you never feel pulled to do anything other than love your kids, that’s enough. If you never feel pulled to do anything beyond entertaining your friends and enjoying your Sundays, that’s enough. You don’t need to be the hero to millions to be the hero of your own story. You are enough. We stop waiting for life to be extraordinary when we realize that every moment, no matter how simple or cliche, has within it the potential to be extraordinary. Every moment possesses remarkable qualities. We just have to look for them.
Whether you are climbing Everest, sitting next to Oprah, answering the phone at a local business or cooking dinner for your kids in your small suburban town, you are heroic. You’ve won, you’ve lost, you’ve learned and grown and soared. You’ve fallen and you’ve risen. You’ve felt deep recesses of pain and overflowing multitudes of love. There is an epic novel in and around our every day lives. Each of us is living a masterpiece, one that is full of raw and beautiful moments, ups and downs, adventures and obstacles, quiet victories and huge love.
If you feel called to a dual purpose, honor it, plan for it. But if you turn inward and find that you are indeed content with what you have, celebrate that. Embrace the incomparable nobility of being the best version of yourself in the life you are currently living.
You. Are. Enough.