Muddling through our day-to-day challenges can sometimes feel rather lackluster. We often find ourselves entering a period of boredom where life feels gray and uninteresting.
I think the underlying cause of this listlessness might be that what we are focused on day-to-day is not satisfying at the soul level of our being. It is in those moments that we have to ask if where we are investing our energy and attention is a result of habit born of societal expectation or if it is aligned with our soul’s purpose.
Because we have been conditioned from birth by the family who raised us and the type of society we are living in to follow a pre-determined path, it may be difficult to wade through the weeds of our own thought processes to find the truth of our being.
In America, we exist in a capitalistic and consumerist society, so we are conditioned to focus on education, working hard, and acquiring more. While learning is critical to our survival, as is working at a job of some kind, our souls are looking for much more in terms of experience and spiritual growth. When we get too caught up in surface “success” and neglect the deepest longings of our heart and soul, life can take on a gloomy aspect and we may feel a sense of purposelessness, rather than a sense of fulfillment.
The key is to pay attention to and reconnect to those deep longings – often first experienced in childhood – and align your thoughts, words and actions to that truth.
This could be as simple as remembering the deep attraction you had to nature as a child and making sure as an adult that you are giving yourself permission to sit by a creek, climb a mountain, get involved with a community garden, or fill your house with plants.
Perhaps you loved cats or dogs, but pets were banned in your house. Volunteering at the local dog sanctuary or fostering pups can put you back in touch with this desire to be in relationship with and care for animals.
Perhaps you were pushed away from a teaching career by parents who had higher financial ambitions for you. Becoming a tutor or finding a volunteer position in a children’s museum may help you reconnect with this desire.
Sitting quietly in meditation is a great first step to becoming aware of the internal drives and desires that you brought into this life. We offer opportunities to explore this internal voice throughout the year at Centering Space and encourage you to sample our Weekly Prayer and monthly programs to find out what you find most helpful to get in touch with your soul-level purpose.
Bringing this new-found insight to the surface and acting on those intentions can be a source of immense joy and fulfillment at any time in life.
