Musings on 'finding' purpose

Or maybe we are asking the wrong question

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The peonies in my garden just starting to fulfil their purpose - bringing beauty through their blooming.

My pondering today was sparked by Sally Ann’s comment a couple of weeks ago that she has been on a long search for purpose, and wonders if she will ever find it. It got me thinking and the more I contemplate ‘purpose’, the more nebulous and elusive it seems. There has been plenty written on this subject, and I think it is multi-layered, however… here are my wandering thoughts, hopefully something will land.

I wonder if we get sidetracked in the notion of ‘finding’ our purpose? Supposing purpose is not something we find, but something innate that reveals itself, something that flowers from the essence of who we are and what we are naturally drawn to?

Are we chasing what we think is purpose when we are really chasing a path that expresses our authenticity? A path that is an expression of the theme we are here to live, so that we can have meaningful impact in the world?

Hmmmm….

I’ve been looking at this with my Moving Mountains group through the Human Design lens, and specifically an aspect called the Incarnation Cross. In HD terms, this is the theme at the core of our being, a theme we carry to impact the lives of others when they need it.

Incarnation Cross is sometimes referred to as our purpose, and sometimes as our life’s work, but I’m more inclined to think that purpose arises out of our Incarnation Cross theme. I particularly like Brynja Magnusson’s take on this. In her book, Incarnation Cross; A Guidebook of Purpose Archetypes, she describes the Incarnation Cross as “a flower that blooms from us when we live authentically, and we cannot chase that flower bloom, we can only nourish the organism to its best health and witness blooming as a result.”

The idea of purpose as a flower on the stem of our true self definitely resonates for me. It makes me think of all the peonies blooming right now.

I’ll share my Incarnation Cross and that of my hubby as examples. Mine is the Cross of Explanation, the theme of communication, solutions and and verbal expression of ideas. My impact for others is that people pass through my life when they need to hear new ideas explained. This Cross gives me the gift of bringing communication into community settings in order to identify and translate the needs of ‘my people’ into words and solutions.

Even before I knew anything about this, I was drawn to working in communications. I’ve had a career in publishing, been a volunteer presenter in local radio, become an author, and written in many forms. I could express this theme in other ways, but writing is the path that feels most natural to me, and that I have the most passion for. I love the written and spoken word, collecting and connecting ideas, sharing what I glean with others. I feel most myself when I’m weaving words together.

My hubby has the Cross of Tension, the theme of betterment, pressure and improvement; provoking others to move beyond their perceived limitations and comfort zones. His impact for others is to ‘inspire improvement against all odds’, to awaken their capacity for growth, their capacity to develop new skills and access their creative spirit.

He didn’t know any of that when he trained as an executive coach, nor when he took up Aikido. He was just absolutely drawn to help those who are ready to move beyond what holds them back, including himself. Whether he is working formally or informally as a coach, with clients or with new White Belt students on the Aikido mat, he is definitely in his flowering.

Your Human Design Incarnation Cross will not tell you ‘what’ to do, but as a tool for self-witnessing, it will show you the theme you are here to live and the impact you can have on the people who pass through your corner of the world. And that might help you recognise how you are here to flower.

In my last post I introduced you to the wire sculptures of artist, Rachel Ducker. In the presence of these incredible figures, I had a real visceral sense of Rachel’s purpose. Whether she would describe it as such I don’t know, but I could see her soul expressed in her work. I was particularly drawn to the sculptures that expressed ‘aliveness’ in an open joyful stance, as that is what I want more of in my life right now. She also creates 2D paintings and jewellery, and some very dark and gothic figures, evocative of our dark and shadow side. (She first trained as a jeweller before moving into sculpture.)

Her work has a energy to it, a voice, a spirit, a sense of soul purpose beyond creating something attractive. A freedom, a rawness, an unapologetic authenticity. Her heart and soul in every piece. It is like Rachel the artist is a conduit, and her purpose is pouring through her. It feels like it can be no other way.

I also read a deeply moving post this week from Zoe Scaman. I recommend you read it.

Look, Mum. I'm a Hall Of Famer.

Zoe has just been recognised into the British Interactive Media Association Hall of Fame, an award she had never anticipated, because she did not fit the ‘system’. Her acceptance speech, which she shares in full in her post, says to me that purpose is a flower that blooms from the stems of our raw authenticity and when it comes to us, it is a transformation.

“I walked away from the safety of the agency machine and stepped into the wilderness. No titles to hide behind. No hierarchy to climb. No structure to define me. Just my raw self, with my work, my observations, and the questions that refused to be silenced. And in that vulnerable, exposed space, everything transformed.”

I don’t pretend that I understand much of Zoe Scaman’s world, but I do recognise a woman living her life ‘on purpose’, aligned with her deepest values.

Better questions?

So where I’ve got to is that our purpose is not something to be found. It is already there, waiting for the right conditions and the right moment to flower. And we need to create the conditions for our flowering to happen, i.e. we clear the ground of our societal, parental, educational and career conditioning that tells us who and what we should be. We stop trying to fit and allow life to show us where we actually belong - even if it feels very ‘on the edge’.

I also sense that our purpose reveals itself to us when we are ready to receive it. If we get out of our own way, stop trying to chase it like an elusive butterfly and just sit with an open heart, willing to receive, it will come and tap us on the shoulder. And it may or may not have anything to do with what we get paid for.

So I am wondering if we are asking the wrong question altogether. What if the question is not “what’s my purpose? Or how do I find it?”, but “how can I create the conditions for my purpose to reveal itself to me?”

How about we play with these questions:

What do I need to stop, or release, to create the space for my purpose to reveal itself?

What is the path that I feel an strong impulse to follow?

What matters most to me?

What contribution do I really want to make?

What is it that I cannot not do?

Until next time… I’d love to know your thoughts on the slippery subject of purpose.

If you are curious about Human Design and want to explore further or just have a question, drop me a message or leave a comment.

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