Are You Looking For Purpose in Your Life?

Find the needs of the people around you

We all want to feel like we make a difference in the world. The problem is, we dream about stumbling into a grand purpose in which we pretty much save the world single-handedly, thinking that the criteria for real purpose are that it has to be groundbreaking or its effects felt around the world. Purpose has to be big or it doesn’t count.

That line of thinking is useless and we can waste a lot of time dwelling on it. You want to help everyone but end up helping no one. How many people have helped everyone on the planet?

The number of people that have helped vast populations of people in the world is minute compared to the number who have lived in it through the ages.

We’re looking at this all wrong. You don’t need to help everyone in order to make a difference, you need to help the ones you can.

“Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day.”

Sally Koch

I live in a small town. I knew there were a lot of people in the area with needs, but I didn’t know how to get plugged in to those needs. One day I decided to walk into a local organization and offer my services. I didn’t know that much about it, but I had looked it up on Facebook to find out what I could before going in. There were five ministries sharing a building, and I ended up serving with a different one than I approached.

It was a small group of people that cooked and delivered meals to people throughout the county. They didn’t ask many questions of the people who asked to be put on the list. If there was a need for food, they filled it. They depended largely on donations of food and money from the community. I delivered meals for them for two years.

Maybe you’ve heard the story below, shortened from Loren Eiseley’s original version.

One day, an old man was walking along a beach that was littered with thousands of starfish that had been washed ashore by the high tide. As he walked he came upon a young boy who was eagerly throwing the starfish back into the ocean, one by one.

Puzzled, the man looked at the boy and asked what he was doing. Without looking up from his task, the boy simply replied, “I’m saving these starfish, Sir”.

The old man chuckled aloud, “Son, there are thousands of starfish and only one of you. What difference can you make?”

The boy picked up a starfish, gently tossed it into the water and turning to the man, said, “I made a difference to that one!”

There are always people within your reach that could use a helping hand. You know that old saying, “Don’t miss the forest for the trees”? In this case, we need to turn it around. Don’t miss the trees for the forest.

Recognize this painting? Georges Seurat used a technique called Pointillism to create it. The entire picture is made up of tiny dots of paint that work together to form the image. Standing at a distance, you see the whole picture. Only when you take a close-up look can you see the intricate individual dots that make it up.

Instead of staring at the world as a whole, focus on the individuals inside it, that are all around you. Make a difference in your piece of the world.

Maybe something bigger will come from your efforts. Maybe not. If your goal is to help, to give of yourself, then you will have found purpose.