Do we create our own purpose, or is it something we discover?

Either can be true.

Creating your own purpose.

Or discovering your own purpose.

Or rediscovering your purpose, at some time in your life.

Sometimes you create something, and realize the purpose as you go along.

Minoo Jha

 · 3y

What is your one talent that you use to help others in life?

Writing. I use my ability to write to do the following; * Inspire * Stop people in their tracks and make them think * Encourage * Comfort * Entertain * Share my victories and defeats * Give solace * Express my admiration My most recent blog piece was written to express my admiration to those who have been able to transcend the ups and downs of life… If You Take A Ride Down Memory Lane If you take a ride down memory lane This is what you will see That your life was full of surprises Many you couldn't foresee. __ You never thought the road would lead you To where you are today You never thought there would be so many twists and turns Which would require you to continuously adapt your choices, your lifestyle, your beliefs, and your ways. __ You never thought there would be some storms That would give you your purpose and your mission You never thought you would become so strong and determined And develop such a unique and steadfast vision. __ You never dreamed you had it in you To do some of the things you have through the years You never dreamed so many ideas and answers would emerge On the back of so many tears. __ You never thought you would come to terms With all the potholes and detours that sent you reeling You never dreamed you would find a silver lining in the darkest clouds And find a way to get past some of the most overwhelming feelings. __ You never thought you would get past your heartbreaks And find a way to turn your sorrows into smiles You never thought you would put your deepest heartaches behind you And find a way to re-engage, reconnect, and thrive. __ Yes, yours is a hero's journey, dear sweet reader One in which from the threads of pain and confusion, you've created a life of joy, meaning, and sense You deserve a standing ovation and thunderous applause for this no small, no easy achievement And your example is nothing short of inspiring, awesome, and immense. __ Take a bow. Take a bow. You deserve it. You deserve it.

Sometimes, life’s traumas can lead you to your purpose.

Minoo Jha

 · 1y

I have a setback in life and I want to make a comeback. what should I do?

Story 1 - Setback into Comeback Once upon a time there was a little boy. When he was 3 years old, his dad was plastering a wall at his house. Innocently - and not knowing what he was doing, the boy poked a finger into the damp plaster. His dad saw him do it from across the room and got mad. In a rage, his dad threw a roof shingle across the room at him. The roof shingle pierced the boy’s head and lodged in his skull. He had to be rushed to the hospital for an emergency surgery. The boy grew up with the memory of this terrible incident, as well as other incidents caused by his father’s rages. Growing up, he was a constant witness to, and a victim of his father’s abuse of himself and his mother. He observed how his mother handled his father's rages with compassion. When he became an adult, the boy chose to pursue psychology. He has interested in anger, and the underlying causes for violent expressions of anger. His studies and research pointed to low self-esteem being the cause of anger. People who were angry harbored severe feelings of shame and guilt - coupled with a lack of empathy for other people’s feelings. He understood low self esteem was at the heart of many violent crimes. He decided to dedicate his life to helping people successfully deal with, and overcome their anger issues. His successes include some of the most hardened criminals in the justice system. His name is Steven Stosny, or more formally, Dr. Steven Stosny. He is a living example of how to turn a setback into a comeback. If someone does something to us, we should never think we have only 2 choices, one of which is to run away and seek refuge in something, the other to strike back. Fight or flight are not are only answers. What Dr. Stosny teaches us (and his clients) is that there is a third way, which is developing compassion for ourselves, and for all those who make us suffer, or have made us suffer. Story 2: Setback Into Comeback In 1918, when the US entered World War 1, a man enlisted in the US army as a private. He was 38 years old and had already amassed a fortune of $75,000. Concerned that he may not come back from the war, he gave his savings to his best friend for safe-keeping. The war took many lives, but mercifully, his life was spared, and when he was released from duty, which was 14 months later, he was ready to begin his old life again. One of the first things he did, on his release, was to visit his friend to get his money. Bad news was waiting for him at his friend’s house. His friend had committed suicide, and left his wife a widow. His friend's widow told him, his friend had put both his own money, and the money they had, in a worthless investment, and lost it all. The shame and grief over the loss had been too much for his friend, and he took his own life. What do you think the ex-Army Private did? He accepted the blame for putting “that much temptation” in his friend’s way, and made monthly contributions to the man’s widow, for the next 30 years. The man’s name was Grantland Rice. He was the most famous sportswriter of his time. Even if you don't know his name, you will definitely know these words which he penned – “For when the One Great Scorer comes To mark against your name, He writes - not that you won or lost - But HOW you played the Game.” There’s another way to turn a setback into a comeback. Story 3 - Setback into Comeback In 1990, a 22 year old student of Kenyon College, Ohio, was riding in a car - when she got an attack of nausea. The nausea continued over days and weeks and months, and was soon accompanied by severe aches and pains - from head to toe, incapacitating her. After months of going to doctors, they would eventually diagnose her condition as chronic fatigue syndrome. She dropped out of college, and from then on, her life became that of a house-bound invalid. In such a condition, many would throw up their hands, and say, “I am an invalid; that’s all my life is good for”. But the girl did not do that. She picked a subject that interested her - and started writing a book. Unable to leave the house, she did all her research at home – either by going online, or via the phone. She turned out a best-seller. Her book was on the New York Times Non-Fiction Best-Seller list for 30 weeks, and was made into a hit movie in 2003. Still home-bound, she started to work on a new book soon after. Her second book was also a hit, # 1 on the New York Times Non-Fiction Best-Seller List for 52 weeks. It was picked up by Angelina Jolie, and made into a film. The girl’s name is Laura Hillenbrand, and the books are Sea Biscuit and Unbroken, movies of which you may have seen. 3 inspiring examples of people who turned setbacks into comebacks. What’s yours?

You can also stumble upon your purpose accidentally.

Minoo Jha

 · 6y

What is your most interesting meditation experience?

Hi, You asked, What is your most interesting meditation experience? After I stared meditating, I have had a few telepathic experiences. One of them was waking up in the middle of the night with a story about 3 Benches. I do not normally write fiction pieces on my blog, so it was very unusual for me to wake up in the middle of the night with the idea of this 3 Benches Story. The next day I called my friend in Klamath and I asked her, “Hey Nadya, whatcha been up to?” like I usually do. I got goosebumps when she said, “Oh, I am building a bench for my backyard.” I felt the only explanation for the mysterious appearance of the 3 Benches idea in my mind was because of a telepathic experience with Nadya. By now I must have aroused your curiosity about what this 3 Benches story is all about. It took another 6 years for me to actually get down to being able to write it and publish it on my blog. Here it is. I hope you enjoy reading it. Everyone Has Their Purpose Everyone has their purpose. I just hadn’t discovered mine. We were 3 benches in a park. Bench 1 clearly knew its purpose. It was to enjoy the rich conversations and the books of the people who sat on Bench 1. Bench 1 was into mind-expanding things. Bench 1 was always going on and on about philosophy and epistemology and such, things which, if they didn’t entirely go over my head, only somewhat interested me. I am curious and I have a love for words. These two personality traits made me listen to whatever Bench 1 said. Bench 2 was clearly status-seeking, a name-dropper. Bench 2 lived for the stylish, well-heeled, and well-known people that sat on Bench 2. Bench 2 would tell you that Bench 2 occupants that day included people who wore Manolo Blahnik Hangisi shoes, or toted the most expensive Louis Vuitton bags, or drove up in a Tesla Model X P100 D. As for me, neither status, nor mind expanding ideas, excited me, or held the key to my soul. I registered everything Bench 1 and Bench 2 said. I was curious enough for that. Bench 1 and Bench 2 knew they had a perfect listener in me. So they shared everything and anything that excited them, or troubled them, with me. And I would listen. But truthfully, I was interested in an "interesting what other benches find interesting" way. I knew, there had to be something more. One day, an older woman sat on my bench and said the rosary. As she sat there, moving from bead to bead, and repeating the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be, I caught a glimpse of what my purpose was. Another day, two young men sat on my bench. One of the young men had the book Awakening Loving-Kindness by Pema Chodron in his hands. He explained to the other young man what meditating on loving-kindness meant. I caught a glimpse of my purpose again. Another day, I watched a man put a mat on the grass, put his hands up, then put his right hand over his left hand, then bend down and put his hands on his knees, then stand back up and bend down, placing his knees, hands and head on the floor, all the while reciting prayers. I caught a glimpse of my purpose again. One day, two Hindu studies major students sat on my bench. One of them read this passage from the Bhagavad Gita out aloud to the other: “The man who sees me in everything and everything within me will not be lost to me, nor will I ever be lost to him. He who is rooted in oneness realizes that I am in every being; wherever he goes, he remains in me. When he sees all being as equal in suffering or in joy because they are like himself, that man has grown perfect in yoga.” I caught a glimpse of my purpose again. Another day, two Jesuit priests chose me for their bench. They spoke of wondrous things, such as St. Augustine hearing a childlike voice telling him to “take up and read”. For days after, I kept thinking about that. And then one day, it happened. A man with a backpack and a stick entered the area where our 3 benches were located. He looked weary and he looked tired and he looked disheveled and he looked unkempt. I knew he was the kind of man Bench 1 and Bench 2 would be least interested in, even revolted by. He looked at all 3 of us benches, and then made his way to where I was, even though I was the furthest bench. He put his backpack down on one end of the bench. Then, using the backpack as a pillow for his head, he sprawled across the length of the bench, covered his face with a dirty shirt, and fell into a deep sleep, from which he awoke, hours later, after which he picked up his things and left. He came back the next day and did the same thing; and he came back the day after and did the same thing again. At the end of day 3, after he had woken up and left, Bench 1 said to me: “Tough luck 3, to have a homeless guy single you out and make a habit of it.” I didn’t say anything. Bench 2 added, “Better accept it, 3. You might be stuck with him at least till the weather changes!” I didn’t say anything. If only Bench 1 and Bench 2 knew…..at last, I had found my purpose. The End Note to Readers: The original idea for this story came to me in the form of a miraculous coincidence - which happened in October of 2012, almost 6 years ago. Though I had the idea for this story 6 years ago, I wasn’t able to put it into words. So it just lingered with me, all these years, until a few days ago. Here's how it happened. On the morning of April 27, 2018, while riding the bus to work and reading a book, suddenly these words came to my mind, “Everyone has their purpose”. My mind, next inexplicably, jumped to my unwritten 3 benches story. The next thing I knew, I was writing furiously. This story, that had been waiting to be told for 6 years, got told.

A crisis of purpose is a good thing - it can lead you to discover what you are meant to do.

Minoo Jha

 · 6y

Why do people seem to have a crisis of purpose these days?

Hi Greg, You asked, Why do people seem to have a crisis of purpose these days? Because they are looking in the wrong places. A sense of purpose cannot come from having a lot of money or owning a fancy car or house, or having a trophy wife or girlfriend. Our chosen field of work can give us a sense of purpose. Entrepreneurs are blessed in this regard. While for the rest of us, working is a social and economic necessity and a compulsion, entrepreneurs do what they really want to do – the income and status and other rewards, physical and psychological being merely byproducts of following their dream. This is why entrepreneurs are able to work harder than the rest of us. But anything can give us a sense of purpose - even something outside of our 8-5 hours. Working on bettering an area of our lives may give us a sense of purpose. Exploring something new may give us a sense of purpose. A desire to help someone or to create change may give us a sense of purpose. The more sense of purpose the activity has for us - the higher will be our energy, and the higher will be our motivation to find the time, ideas, money, and resources for it. People get surprised when I tell them my blog posts take about 8 hours to write on average. “My goodness! That’s a lot, Minoo. That’s like a whole day of work! How do you do it?” I am highly motivated, because blogging gives me a great sense of purpose. I feel renewed every time I write my blog. I feel I am doing something purposeful. When people comment on a post, this sense of purpose is heightened. Truthfully speaking, my blog is play to me. I am like a child on the beach with my bucket and spade, scooping up treasures from the sand – only the treasures I scoop are not pebbles and shells, but philosophical treasures – sudden insights, idea flashes, thoughts of different colors. Writing satisfies me so much, after writing a post, I feel a sense of fulfillment - like someone feels after a job well done, after completing a hard task, achieving a high game score, or achieving an important milestone in trying to kick a habit. Meditating and being an attentive listener also give me a sense of purpose. And I always have the energy to do that. A child on the beach builds sand castles. I build sand castles too. In my post, The Element of the First Step and Its Hope for Getting Big Things Started In Our Lives, I came up with the suggestion of One Wall. One Wall is one of my sand castles. I know sand castles are blown away by air and water. (Water and air are powerful – the Grand Canyon was sculpted by water and air). But when you have a sense of purpose, it’s the journey that matters. “It’s the process, not the destination” as my nephew Vikram will say. My blog is about a becoming and an evolution. I evolve every week, and the blog evolves with me. As we evolve, our sense of purpose evolves. I have a friend I have known for a long time. In her 20's and 30's, she was famous for painting nudes. Her house had giant canvases of nudes wherever you looked. My friend’s sense of purpose at that time was related to expressing herself through writing, art, music and clothes. As she got older, my friend was drawn to spiritual, contemplative and service activities. This is where she found a sense of purpose. Now a practicing Buddhist, her daily rituals are dominated by putting herself at the service of the Buddhist nuns - she sweeps the temple floor, cleans the temple bathrooms, she prays, she meditates. You will never believe what she did with those treasured paintings of nudes. She used them all up as firewood.There was no place in her new life for them. We all know someone like my friend. People whose sense of purpose was materially or creatively oriented at one time, but is spiritually oriented now. The journey will be different for each of us. Some people will start out creative, artistic, but become more inward focused and service oriented as they get older. For others, the opposite will apply. Having spent their lives dealing with the practical realities of getting through school, working a job, getting married and providing for and raising a family, now as empty-nesters, free of responsibilities, they might be drawn to explore their creative, artistic and inventive sides. This is what gives them their sense of purpose now. Remember as our sense of purpose evolves, everything we touch and create will evolve. As we evolve in our thoughts about food, our cooking and eating will evolve. As we evolve in our thoughts about nature and the environment, our gardening and handling of natural resources will evolve. As we evolve in our mental and emotional habits, our interactions with people and handling of situations will evolve. In all the areas in which we have a sense of purpose, this will apply. The creation of the wonderful and marvelous Iphone reflects the sense of purpose and consciousness of its creator Steve Jobs. The story of India winning its independence from the British Raj reflects the sense of purpose of the peace-loving man who led it - Mahatma Gandhi. It is exciting when we have a sense of purpose. We may have to undertake a lot of different things. Find money for the purpose. Find time for the purpose – especially if we have responsibilities. Find physical, mental and emotional space for the purpose. Find the right strategy for the purpose - even giving up “my way or the highway” as needed. But all these are captivating chores, when we have a sense of purpose. Also, it doesn’t matter whether we live to see the purpose achieved. Elizabeth Cady Stanton never lived to see American women be able to vote, the cause she had dedicated her life to. President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated within 2 years of signing the Emancipation Proclamation. Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King lost their lives without seeing the full harvest of their work. But all these people were indefatigable to the very end. Their sense of purpose gave them unflagging energy. Each of us has to find our purpose. That unsung song. Those unread books. Those unwritten or unsaid words. That untilled soil. That road we’ve never taken. Fulfillment begins when we are able to say "YES THIS IS MY PURPOSE".

If you haven’t yet found your purpose yet, take heart.

Continue your search, until you find your purpose.

Or your purpose finds you.

Minoo Jha

 · 2y

What are you supposed to do in life?

There is a purpose and a plan for you There is a purpose and a plan for you And a purpose and a plan for me And when we reach a certain point in our lives, You and me will clearly see What that plan and purpose is For you, and for me. __ That plan and purpose may be To add to the music of the world To make people dance And smile And weep And be moved Set their emotions in a whirl This is what that plan and purpose may be To bring the magical and intense power of music into reality And when we reach a certain time in our life, It will be clear for us to see That music was the plan and purpose Music was the plan and purpose, for you, or for me. __ That plan and purpose could be To cook and to feed To put things on the table To use all the wonderful things that are sown And that are grown And that are waiting for the skillful touch of someone with a passion to put ingredients together in an artistic and satisfying way This is what the plan and purpose may be And when we reach a certain point of time in our life, This is when we'll see That the joys of cooking and serving up culinary delights Was what our plan and purpose was meant to be. __ That plan and purpose may be To create art With words and ideas, with paper and paint, with metal and stains, or performances with various names To use the color palette and materials, and ideas of the world To craft beautiful or exciting works of art With our imagination, and a touch of inspiration To bring to life something magical that has never be seen, experienced, heard This is what that plan and purpose may be And when we reach a certain point of time in our life, It will be clear for us to see That our life was meant for art And our art was meant to be. __ That plan and purpose may be To heal, save, or protect To help reduce the vulnerability Of the young, the weak, the helpless, the sick Or those who are in a position Where danger or suffering lurks, and where they are not supposed to be A plan which asks us to be selfless and brave Thinking of only one thing - how to protect, how to free, how to heal, how to save And how to fight for what is right. This is what that plan and purpose may be And when we reach a certain point in our life, Or when certain things happen, It will be clear for us to see That protecting, healing, and saving lives, and fighting for what is right, is our plan and purpose Protecting, healing, and saving lives, and fighting for what is right, is what our plan and purpose is meant to be. __ That plan and purpose may be To create solutions to problems, or to solve life's puzzles and mysteries The puzzles of illness, the puzzles of limitations The puzzle of problem personalities or system deficiencies To solve with test-tubes, or analysis With hypotheses, calculations, and deductions The problems of humanity That are keeping the world from moving forward This is what our plan and purpose may be And when we reach a certain time in our life, It will be clear for us to see That our life was meant to create solutions, or to solve life's puzzles and mysteries Finding answers and creating solutions is what our plan and purpose was meant to be. __ That plan and purpose may be To teach To open minds, open hearts, and open eyes To create aha moments and generate insights. To help human beings become better at processing information And able to think better about any situation That is what our plan and purpose may be To shine a light where there's ignorance, so people begin to see Everything there is to know about A, and how it is different from B. And when we reach a certain time in our life It will be clear for us to see That shining a light was the plan and purpose Teaching and enlightening human beings is what our plan and purpose was meant to be. __ Or our plan and purpose may be To live a life of quiet satisfaction, quiet dignity, and doing our duty And by our actions, to be a role model to relatives, friends, acquaintances, coworkers, and everyone we meet Which may seem like nothing But really is everything When you consider it is the exception, rather than the rule, And maybe, we are not able to see that this is what our plan and purpose was meant to be Or to appreciate its value, Until we have done this or that, and it becomes clear for us to see That to live a life of quiet satisfaction, quiet dignity, and doing our duty, Is as grand a plan and purpose as ever a plan and purpose could be And we should each, celebrate this discovery That a life of quiet satisfaction, quiet dignity, and doing our duty, Is as grand a plan and purpose as ever a plan and purpose could be. __ Here's to your plan and purpose, And to my plan and purpose, Whatever that plan and purpose may be, And even if we are still in the process of discovering, What our plan and purpose is meant to be, Let's wish each other well for our journeys. Your journey and my journey, Our journeys of discovering What our plan and purpose is meant to be. Here's to us enjoying that journey Whatever it brings along the way, Whatever it brings you, And whatever it brings me.