From the Bottom of the Bucket

The "On Purpose" Person

“I just want to celebrate another day of living.  I just want to celebrate another day of life” – Rare Earth

Over my 40+ year career, I witnessed many people whose primary reason for living and under fulfilled life was lack of focus and clarity.  They saw themselves as the object of The Sentence of their lives.  They were in a constant state of reaction to daily living.  Planning was a foreign concept, or one they avoided.  When you commit to planning you become the subject of your Life Sentence and you act of the verb of living instead of it acting on you.  It is a perception change that can  be cultivated into a habit.

I just started reading a book, Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness by Dr. Qing Li.   How's that for thinking outside the box (thanks for suggesting it Katie!) ?  I have always loved to woods, and have written about my experiences in previous columns, but the author's premise is there is a scientific reason for the energy transfer that occurs when we enter the world of trees. How often do we walk by an opportunity to stop in the presence of a magnificent tree, without stopping for a moment and absorbing the Vigor?

To abstract for you?  Try this. How often do you waste resources on things that aren't important on your quest for fulfillment?  Since I started my battle with cancer, I start every day humming the song quoted above to remind myself to "celebrate" every aspect of today's experience.  I take walks and notice, among many other things, the trees in my neighborhood and the nearby park. I am grateful for those moments.

We each play Roles in our life. Are you structuring your day around Actvities that actualize those Roles? Are each of those Activities consistent with the Themes that you set for yourself ?  in short, are you living a purposeful life?  That is the only wealth worth accumulating!  To me, spending your given time on this earth any other way, is the greatest sin of all.

Put some thought into your Guiding Themes (mine are Growth, Gratitude, and Giving), then plan the Activities of your day, to improve your actualization of the Roles you are playing in your life.    

 

Oh, and celebrate a tree when you can :-) !

Until next month, I wish you fulfillment.

Bob