PURPOSE OF LIFE #

                                                          

There are many kinds of desire. Desire for success, desire to do one's duty even at the cost of pleasure. Desire for purpose. Something worth dying for which gives meaning to life.

What good is it if you gain the whole world and lose your conscience?

A purposeless life is a living death. What is your purpose? Do you have one? Purpose brings passion. Find or create a purpose and then pursue it with passion and perseverance.
Every day we need to ask ourselves the question: "Am I getting any closer to my purpose in life? Am I making this a better place to live?" If the answer is no, then I have just wasted a day of my life. Life will reward us in proportion to our contribution.

The earlier we find a purpose in life, the better it is. It appears that the greatest challenge comes in the unending search for the purpose of life. Not only as an individual but for our families, organisations and country. Once our purpose and values are clear, conflicts between self-interest and social obligations find a moral balance between themselves. We become aware of when to take a stand. That is the time we start making the right decisions for long-term gain rather than making the wrong decisions for short-term gain. Wisdom and maturity lead to greater understanding of major issues.

Study as if you were to live forever. Live as if you were to die tomorrow.
                                                                                 :-- Mahatma Gandhi


We cannot help ourselves without helping others. 
We cannot enrich our lives without enriching others.
We cannot prosper without bringing prosperity to others.

                                                             :- --Nanette Cole, Spellman College

Janette Cole once said, "Show me a person who is content with mediocrity and I will show you a person destined for failure." Life is not a spectator sport. We cannot sit back and watch things happen. We need to find a purpose in order to make life  meaningful and then strive to achieve that purpose.


 * LIVING WITH A PURPOSE *

All of us are put on this planet for a purpose. We are part of a big picture. But very few people discover their purpose in life. Most of us just exist and keep counting our days rather than making our days count.

Dr. Albert Einstein was once asked, "Why are we here?" He replied, "If the universe  is an accident, we are accidents. But if there is meaning in the universe, there is meaning in us also." And he added, "The more I study physics, the more I am drawn towards metaphysics."

I would rather fail in a cause that will ultimately succeed than succeed in a cause  that would ultimately fail.

                 :-- -Wood row Wilson


* WINNING VERSUS WINNERS * 

What is the difference between winning and being a winner? Winning is an event.  Being a winner is a spirit. Winners have kept winning in perspective based on their value system.


 * THREE INSPIRATIONAL WINNERS *

 1.Olympics is a lifetime event. Lawrence Leukemic stopped racing in a yacht race to  help a fellow competitor who was in trouble. The whole world was watching. His priority of safety for other people's lives was greater than his desire to win. Even though he did not win the race, he was a winner. He was honoured by kings and queens all over the world because he kept the spirit of the Olympics alive. 

2.I heard the story about Reuben Gonzales when he was in the final match of the racquetball tournament. This was an important event and he was playing for the world title. In the final game at match point, Gonzales played a super shot to save point. The referee and the linesman both confirmed that the shot was good and he was declared the winner.

* Journal of the American Family Association, November / December 1991.

But Gonzales, after a little pause and hesitation, have time to stop. They kept  running and made it to the plane and all of them breathed a sigh of relief that they had made it, except one. He got in touch with his feelings, got up, said good-bye to his friends and went. What he saw made him glad that he came out. He went to the table that was knocked down and behind the table was a ten-year-old blind girl who was selling the fruits to make a living. He said, "I hope we haven't ruined your day." He pulled out $10 from his pocket, handed it to her and said, "This will take care of the fruits," and he left. The girl couldn't see what was going on; all she could hear was the footsteps leaving.

As the footsteps faded away, she shouted from behind, "Are you God?" He missed his flight but was he a winner? You bet. One can be a winner without a medal and one can be a loser with a medal if winning is not kept in perspective. urged back to shake his opponent's hand and said, "The shot was faulty." As a result, he lost the serve and eventually, lost the match.

Everyone was stunned. Who could imagine that a player with everything officially in his favour, with winning in his pocket, would disqualify himself and lose. When asked  why he did it, Gonzales replied, "It was the only thing to do in order to maintain my integrity." He lost the match, yet he was a winner.

3. A group of salespeople left town for a meeting and told their families they would be  back home Friday evening for supper. But as with meetings the way they are, one thing leads to another and they didn't finish on time. They were delayed and had to catch a flight.

 They came to the airport just at the last minute, with tickets in hand, and ran, hoping the plane hadn't departed. While running, one of them hit a table and on the table was a fruit basket. All the fruit got scattered and bruised but they  didn't have time to stop. They kept running and made it to the plane and all of them breathed a sigh of relief that they had made it, except one.

 He got in touch with his feelings, got up, said good-bye to his friends and went. What he saw made him glad that he came out. He went to the table that was knocked down and behind the table was a ten-year-old blind girl who was selling the fruits to make a living. He said, "I hope we haven't ruined your day." He pulled out $10 from his pocket, handed it to her and said, "This will take care of the fruits," and he left. The girl couldn't see what was going on ; all she could hear was the footsteps faded away, she shouted from behind, "Are you God?" He missed his flight but was he a winner? You bet.

One can be a winner without a medal and one can be a loser with a medal if winning is not kept in perspective.