The Sharing Economy doesn’t exist, but Shared Purpose does, and it matters.
Why Purpose? Life Matters. Be Prepared.
Hey, you never know what a kid is going to ask next. We wonder why our kids always and endlessly ask the question why why why? And we are often at pains to answer them. It’s so much easier to ask and, of course, answer the who, what, when, where and how much questions. How is a bit harder but nowhere as difficult as answering the why question. And the why are we here question? From an adult perspective, what is our organizing principle or operating system or North Star? What is our compass on the road of life? How do we bring meaning to our lives? How do we live out that meaning? How do we create value by living our gifts in service to others? What is it that we have to offer? What is our greatest gift? How can we help? How can we be of service? How can we help one another? And ultimately, how can we become better together?
Everybody is a Star
It all starts with a sense of ever renewing sense of purpose and ultimately having a core purpose reinforced by our core values, let’s say the six that truly count. How we combine our core purpose and values, and live them out determine what is our core value to humankind. Our successful coexistence is driven by this question: What is your value proposition — what can you offer of value to others in your own inimitable, unique fashion? We are all unique which makes us all equal and different. It’s this difference that is valuable. And because we are all different, we all have something different to offer that makes us all equally important. There’s not a single person on this planet that does not have an important role to play, no matter how seemingly grand or modest. So what is your role based on your purpose? This is not about role-play or an act… this is life manifesting through purpose.
Shared Purpose
Although individual purpose is of paramount importance, the sharing of our unique gifts through shared purpose is what keeps us going as a society… it is the glue that holds us together in the quest of getting ever better together. It is this pursuit that is the Holy Grail of our existence… of answering the: Why are we here? question, individually and collectively. There may be no obvious answer but we can agree to cocreate a meaningful answer. Life itself might have no apparent meaning that we are able to ascertain that we can certainly bring meaning to life. Lived purpose on the individual, societal and planetary planes experienced through shared purpose is the pursuit of being better together, not just as humans, but as beings that are interrelated with all living things and all things part of the living world, which is part of a much greater cosmos.
Transformation
We look to the stars for inspiration, as we are all part of the heavenly body. Technology is changing the world in which we live at ever accelerating velocity and its impact is being felt everywhere yet us human beings, doings and ultimately creatings change slowly but surely. The big question now is: Are we changing for the better or the worst? The bigger question is not: Are we changing?, but How are we changing?, and Why we should do something about that?
Home Sweet Home
We live on a small rock surrounded by other small rocks in an infinite galaxy upon galaxy, universe upon universe, so large and so vast it’s beyond our grasp, even by our greatest minds, even by our most powerful computers. It is time that we once again return to the beginning of time… of being awestruck at the complexity, continuity and cosmological beauty above us, in us and around us. There arrives an instance of our interrelatedness… of how we all play a role in the great unfolding of life… as we know it’s a life that is well beyond our grasp. We don’t know for sure whether life is really worth caring about. We need to expand our minds, our hearts and our appetites for things that are truly important… things that truly matter… things that make all the difference. We live in a wonderful world and cosmos of awesome intricacy that is intelligent by design. We are part of something so much larger that we don’t understand, and we often fear what we don’t understand. No, we don’t need to understand it but we do need to appreciate it, to care about and for it, as we are an inalienable part of it. We need to move from fear to love, from scarcity to abundance, from greed to generosity and from perplexity to purposefulness.
Embrace Y/our Future
The march of progress, so-called, has been filled with miracles and disasters. We need to keep what truly works, and throw out the rest on the rubbish heap of history. We need to let go of things that don’t work so that we might free ourselves so that we might embrace the new, the important, the valuable, the sacred and the divine. In life, if we hold on to something tight with both our hands, then we are unable to embrace new things… we need to let go so we can keep our arms, hearts and eyes open to new possibilities, even amongst old habits and things.
The purpose of purpose is the why of our whys. It is to provide a context, a framework, a compass, a North Star to guide us to where we should go, away from where we should not go, and provide us, like a fountain, with an ever-renewing sense of purpose.
Our unique core purpose and values when lived out is what creates our core value to others. Our individual and collective value proposition is not based on your reputation or expertise or relationships. It’s based on the value you bring to life, not just for the benefit of yourself, but for others as well, as we are all part of something much greater.
One People, One Planet, One Destiny, One Story–many tellings
We all are one. We are all part of the same thing… part of the universe, part of the wonder of life. Here we are on a small rock hurtling through space with many more questions than answers with none more important questions than: What is my purpose? What is your purpose? And most importantly, what is our purpose? Purpose asks how can we become better together as a people, as a society, as humankind, but also how to be kind to our home, earth? After all, good planets are hard to find. And for those folks who tend to watch the bottom line —in the long-term, no healthy planet, no healthy people, and no profits.
New Beginnings
If we can slay the Dragon of delusion by asking and answering the clarifying questions: What is my and our core purpose? — the reason why we exist — Why are we here?, then all the other questions become so much easier to answer. It is the big question of and in life. And if we can answer the big question of life, then death will cease to remain as important to and gripping of our current society and state of development. Death is not an end; it’s merely a new beginning, a transition state from this into that. If we have lived a meaningful life in communion with others, if we have lived out our gifts well, then we can die peacefully and not have lived in fear of death.
Life is a Gift
If we live well, if we do well, and not in a material sense, if we have a brand new sense of purpose that we wake up with each and every day, and that we are part of something greater and are in service to others, we will take care of everybody’s needs. Not just our own or friends’ or neighbors’ or company’s or community’s but everybody’s needs because we are all uniquely different and valuable. We all have value to offer. If we have been in service to others by living out our gift, then we will have lived a meaningful life. When we live well, we have nothing to fear including death itself. So let’s live our lives accordingly so we will have few or no regrets on our deathbed when we look back and know we have done our part time to make the world a better place for all humankind. To be kind is to be human. To be truly kind is to live in service to all living things on this planet and beyond, and to all living systems which we are part of. We are part of the circle and cycle of life. Death is just one part of it. We evolve out of death and we devolve back into it. This life eternal, whether it’s the oxygen we breathe, the impact we have, or just the positive energy that we send forth, which ultimately is known as love, is a shared journey.
What is y/our gift to the world?
