Tuesday, July 30, 2019

My Purpose?

Am I supposed to make a difference?  I remember asking myself this question more than once in my past.  Does my life have a purpose?  At those times I felt lonely, empty and disconnected, mostly from me.  I did not know who I was or am.  These are important questions because if the answers are not forthcoming, or negative, suicide seems like an option, either slowly or quickly.  Some people can have lots of seemingly outer success in job, clothes, family, things, yet feel insufficient meaning to their life.  Of course some people never even ask such questions.  Aristotle says the unexamined life is not worth living.  I am of that persuasion.  I have found that when I give meaning to another person  then my life does seem to matter.  Being of service is a wonderful way to get a positive life worth living answer.  There are two or three of you out there who rely on my blog coming out on a daily basis, I hope.  No?  Oh boy!  The darkness.
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6 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 30, 2019 at 4:48 AM

    Thank you Father Ryan for just being you! I feel blessed to have found your blog and being able to start my day off reading it - often before my meditation, as it can take me on new adventures! Wishing you a very happy day! :)

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  2. RobJuly 30, 2019 at 5:28 AM

    Absolutely!

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  3. DelmsJuly 30, 2019 at 6:21 AM

    I enjoy your daily blog. It gets me to thinking about things I would have otherwise taken for granted. God bless you in your journey to be of daily service to others.

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  4. AnonymousJuly 30, 2019 at 9:10 AM

    I believe there are more than a few whose lives you have influenced in a most positive manner! But, you really wouldn't want to be a cult leader, would you?

    Most of you blogs are so clear they don't require comment, but we read them religiously.

    Thank you! :-)

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  5. John LepreJuly 30, 2019 at 9:26 AM

    I'm just a newbie to your daily blog, but I'm hooked! Amazing to find another man perplexed by life's question yet not afraid to say them out loud. You make me think... you make me feel... and from a thousand miles away that's incredible. OK. I agree with your suggestion that service to others provides an amazing balm to the continous dilemma of purpose & self-worth. I have found that my hours of volunteerism have provided a sense of peace in the chaos of life. But there's always those empty night hours where I think that I should be doing more and helping more people. But then I think that I'm just distracting myself from the real life issue of growing and healing myself and truly understanding my purpose here. As you say, oh the darkness...

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  6. Brian O'NeilJuly 30, 2019 at 9:00 PM

    Fr. Terry, I met you at the Contemplative Outreach retreat at Snowmass two weeks ago. I enjoyed meeting you then and I enjoy your reading your blogs everyday. Your ideas are very original and contain much wisdom. Thanks for your contribution to my life:)

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