What is life but a journey into the un-known. We start out oblivious to this notion and then at some point we realize there must be a purpose to our lives. The questions raise themselves from some undiscovered space, as the mystery of it all intensifies. What is my destination? What is my purpose? What am I supposed to be doing in my lifetime? How can I leave this world a better place for having been here? At first, we may feel the need to figure out the destination, as we stress about what we are supposed to be doing. Sometimes, this pondering can be down-right terrifying as the weeks turn into months and the months, into years. Wide-eyed wonder can turn into existential angst in the flip of an hourglass. Besides the inevitable death and taxes, what is there?
Imagine that each step on the journey is a piece of an enormous puzzle. Every experience, positive, negative, or neutral, contributes to our understanding of it. At some point, this becomes clear. Eventually, the destination becomes the least important part, transferring the glory to every step along the way. Each step is a complete experience, a developing pattern of imprints on our psyche. The puzzle may require some imagination, patience, and perseverance to put together, but it is worth the work. It is a fascinating accomplishment to grow into our bigger picture because our enormous finished puzzle is actually a piece in an even bigger puzzle. We are enriched by so many others that the whole just keeps inter-connecting and evolving outward.
So, coming back to our piece of the puzzle, how do we figure it out? A good place to start is to discover our Dharma. Dharma? Yes, rhymes with Karma. While Karma is the sum of the effects of our actions, Dharma is our purpose. Whereas Karma is “actions” or “deeds” which play into the entire cycle of cause and effect, Dharma is essentially that which raises us to our highest purpose. The word "dharma" comes from the Sanskrit root dhri, meaning to "uphold" or to "sustain." What we do in our lifetime to serve ourselves and others in the best possible way is our Dharma. It upholds and sustains right action. Self-realization is the highest Dharma. In 21st century terms, Dharma is accessing one’s spiritual purpose as a way of identifying the career/life path that best expresses one’s creativity and service to others.
In our quest, we can ask ourselves the following question: “ If I had no financial worries in the world and had unlimited time on my hands, what talents and abilities would I use to enrich myself and serve others?” Other questions might be, “What unique abilities do I have? What activities bring me into a state of “flow”, where I lose all sense of time? What do I do that brings comfort and healing to others?” Finding our Dharma, helps the journey to unfold effortlessly. It brings clarity and focus to each step and alignment to the bigger picture. And, the bigger picture? Well, that is a topic for another Inner-Soul contemplation…
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