Purpose

If it isn't killing you, 

It isn't your purpose in life. 

This may sound harsh and extreme at first, but think about it. From the moment we are born, we are dying. Life is death. Therefore, death is also life. That's not saying you should actively seek out a career path that will kill you, or take drugs that could kill you, or jump off a cliff; it simply means that you must pour your life into your passion. 

When you find your purpose in life, you will know it. You will know it not because it is easy, but because it is hard. It will pull the best parts of you out kicking and screaming, until you are forced to submit to the power inside you. And yes, there is power inside you. It flows through all of us. We just have to recognize it, and put it to use in a positive way.

I wrote a poem a few months ago about the power that flows through all of us. I don't know how good it is or if it goes well with this blog, but either way, here it is: 

 

 Now I'm going to get personal, but bear with me, I have a point.  

At least I hope I do.

When I first discovered video editing, I thought I'd found my purpose. It was and still is one of my biggest passions, but it is not my purpose. Then when I founded   RISE (Rape Incest & Suicide Education), I thought I'd found my purpose. But while helping people is definitely a huge part of everyone's purpose, and while I am extremely passionate about RISE, it's still not my purpose.

When I started writing as a child, I was nonchalant about it, and remained that way until recently. But with the creation of my newest literary endeavor, a series of science fiction novels, I honestly believe that I have finally found my purpose. Writing. Not just writing, but using words and images to attempt to pull out the best in people. Using fiction as a motivational tool. I'm not just saying this to promote my books, either. But I want you to understand how I came to this conclusion. Through writing these books and doing the painstaking illustrations for them, I am learning more about myself and the world than I ever imagined I could learn while being creative. I am learning that it is hard, but worth it. All good things are worth it, and all things worth it are hard. 

I don't yet have children (and if I ever do, they will become my purpose) but I know that many people see their children as their purpose in life. Bringing children into this world and raising them is a wonderful thing, but it is by no means an easy task. Childbirth itself is a testament to this. It is probably the most painful thing a woman will ever have to endure, but in the end, when she looks at her baby for the first time, it's worth it. The pain and suffering we go through while pursuing our purpose is a lot like childbirth. It's hard, but in the end, it's worth it. 

If it doesn't require all of your energy; 
if it doesn't make you cry and sweat and bleed; 
if it isn't killing you, then it isn't your purpose in life. 

So what's your purpose?
What's the one thing that is harder than anything else, but that you also want more than anything else? Don't be afraid to leap into the unknown. You can't have crops without reaping, and you can't have success without work. So when you find your purpose, jump in blindly with everything you have. Put the necessary work in, and in the end it will be worth it. Because everything hard is worth it, and everything worth it is hard.