July "I Believe" Challenge - Day 1: Purpose

I have enlisted in my first blog challenge over at Dani Fake Webb's site.  Dani has a list of topics, one per day, which a group of us will be using to clarify our beliefs.  I usually blog about twice a week, so every day seems a bit daunting - and it's nearly 7pm on Day 1 and I already feel behind.  We have company at the house, and quite time has been hard to come by.  Plus, when I saw the topic for the very first day, I cringed inwardly - PURPOSE.  Wow.  Really?  I'm supposed to write about what I believe about purpose.

Well, here goes.  I believe in the purpose of this exercise.  I think that clarifying our beliefs, articulating them, stating them out loud, is important.  Phenomenologically, my world has shifted significantly in the past few years, and I don't always do a good job of articulating what I truly believe - for lots of reasons.

Purpose is hard for me.  Because I am reluctant to say that I believe we all have a specific purpose for our lives, a plan already laid out beforehand that we have to search around in the dark to find.  On the other hand, I think every one of us has something to contribute - a purpose.  So what do I really believe?  I believe that my purpose is to recognize and honor the imprint of the divine in every person I encounter.  I believe that my purpose as a therapist is to see and honor the person sitting across from me and be a witness and an encouragement on his or her journey.  And I believe that acting with a purpose in mind means that I act intentionally, consciously, making choices -- instead of reacting from an unconscious place.  Purpose can only be filled through awareness and intentional action.

So, for the next month, I'm going to try to try to purposefully, intentionally set out some thoughts about what I believe.  Here we go......