IS THERE A PURPOSE TO LIFE?

Is there a Purpose in Life?

Is Life about the Journey or the Destination?

In one of my groups a few weeks ago, a client was struggling to figure out her purpose in life. She commented that she knew she has some purpose because she has survived many incidences and was still alive.  However, she could not seem to grasp just what that purpose might be.  Later, I began to consider this question.

Personally, I have never really considered what purpose my life serves to others, except maybe to my daughter and family.  In being a therapist I would like to think that my clients gain something from working with me.   Many years ago, a former supervisor once stated to me that her goal as a therapist/counselor/social worker/clinician, etc…was that if someone felt more hopeful after talking with her she did her job.  I guess that is they way I have always thought of my work.  Clients come in to talk to me because they want to make some change in their lives and help improve the quality of it.  If someone feels better after talking to me than I feel I have done my job.

When I was a young adult I worked with a social worker from JFCS due to my “odd” behaviors.   In those days chemical imbalances were not so easily diagnosed and no one (including the social worker) ever mentioned that maybe my symptoms might be caused by conditions known as OCD and Tourettes (that came 10 yrs later).  However, although my therapist did not identify the actual causes of my issues, I did feel  much better after talking to her.   I felt less “crazy," more accepted, not so alone in the world.   I felt like those fleeting thoughts of hopelessness, were just that, fleeting thoughts. Perhaps, along with my own tenaciousness, one of the reasons I am still here, able to write this, is because she inspired some hope for me. That, is the true reason I chose the field I work in.  I know what it is like to experience the confusion and isolation that sometimes comes with mental illness. 

Most of the time I don’t ever see the results of  my work.  People come and share their storis with me and then eventually move on with  their lives.  Every once in a while a former client might stop by to thank me for the support and encouragement I provided but that rarely happens.  Honestly, that is fine by me. I don’t need to see the end results I just love working with my clients.  

The other role in my life is raising my daughter.  I strive to let her know she is loved and hopefully I support her in the way she needs, so she can discover her own adventures.   I enjoy being a parent and watching my daughter grow up into a remarkable young woman.  I often tell her that I not only love her but I admire and respect the person she is growing up to be.   Being a parent is amazing.   My daughter’s father  once commented to me that one can not describe what it is to love a child you simply have to live it.  He was right. 

I think life is a discovery.  Sometimes we do not like what we find.  Other times our discoveries illuminate the course we decide to travel.  Existence is like melody always changing never stopping.  

So, is life about the journey or the destination?  Perhaps it is both.