A Path toward Purpose
In a memorable scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the Black Knight, who has just lost both of his arms, replies quite matter-of-factly to King Arthur that his traumatic injuries are “just a flesh wound.” It’s the knight’s absurd denial of reality that makes the scene so funny. In real life, it’s not funny at all.
Sadly, many people go through life unaware that they have suffered some form of trauma. Physical or sexual abuse of children, for example, can be buried in their consciousness as part of a natural human defense mechanism. And there are countless more who experience emotional trauma both as children and later in life.
One of the lessons from Bessel van der Kolk’s excellent book The Body Keeps the Score is that trauma can rob us of a sense of purpose. If purpose is a connection to something beyond and greater than ourselves, it makes sense that a self wounded and compromised by trauma would have difficulty experiencing purpose, along with the energy and meaning it gives us. If you feel you are lacking a sense of purpose, trauma is one of the possible reasons.
To connect with a purpose that takes us beyond ourselves, we require some minimal threshold of wholeness and integration. Most people have not suffered extreme trauma and may already be across that threshold. But it is probably safe to say that all of us have been wounded to some degree or another, so for all of us, the path to purpose may very well begin with healing.
If you want to discover or clarify your purpose, a good way to start is with a conversation. I welcome the opportunity to speak with you about purpose, and if I can’t help you, I’ll help you find someone who can.
How very true that an important first step is to heal wounds. And often in that process a new strength is found — an unexpected well of creativity and energy. I also believe that we each can identify two purposes. The first, an inner journey of becoming our true self, our way of “being” in this life. And the second purpose, an outer journey of “doing” and creating. This second purpose may change over the course of time – you may be a stock broker for a while and then later run an art gallery. Seek first the inner journey and the second will reveal itself to you. The idea is to align both purposes. What do you think? Or maybe you use different terms for what I am trying to say. Perhaps “values” are the first purpose.
Also I’m reminded of a quote from Eckhart Tolle: “You are here to enable the divine purpose of the universe to unfold.”
Thanks, as always, for sharing your thoughts with us!
Your thoughts on the two journeys sounds very much like the classic distinction between the active and contemplative life. I’d say that it serves us well to prioritize our attention to the inner journey even while we’re doing what we’re doing out in the world. I think of purpose as meaning in the future tense, the bridge between the distinction you make between “being” and “doing”, akin to what you wrote about aligning the inner and outer journeys. Thanks for your thoughtful reply and question!