Life Purpose
Posted on June 13, 2012 by Linda Deming Ratcliff, One of Thousands of Family Coaches on Noomii.
On discovering my life purpose
One day, one wonderful day, I came across this quote. At the time it was attributed to Nelson Mandela. I have hence found out it is really by Marianne Williamson. I thought it was presumptive and pompous, but it stuck with me and in reading it over many times and at different places in my life, I learned that it was the wisest thing I had ever read. It felt wrong because it went against my Quaker school upbringing. Finally, I shook off my belief that being humble was following God. I realized that it wasn’t and that in fact it was the opposite. Please read it slowly and appreciate what it is declaring:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” I saw that “Hiding my light under a bushel” was not serving God. I watched others and saw that those who were out there with what they had to offer were not awful people. In fact, they brought permission to the conversation for the rest of us to share our best thoughts. I was always taught that I was a child of God. I now refuse to play small. I enjoy shining! The most important part is that my shining does enable others to shine. People tend to meet me in my shine. I no longer automatically agree with my bosses. If I disagree, I let them know politely. It can lead to a much fuller conversation than a conversation where people are “watching their words”.The most important part of the speech is “We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.” That is another way of expressing that everyone on Earth has a life purpose. Finding that life purpose can be harder for some than others. My finding my life purpose allowed me to use it more freely and it brings me such joy. As a life coach, I love helping others discover their life purpose. I love helping my clients who need some help in finding their way. Most are unhappy in their lives and in their jobs because they are not aware of the reason they were put on Earth. Once they realize their life purpose and follow it, they also find joy and fulfillment.
