Monday, February 4, 2013

Why...

Purpose is the original intent of a creation, or the reason WHY something was created.
Nothing in life is without purpose. Everything God created functions according to its purpose. Everything but the human race.

When mankind was created, we were created with something called choice. In the book "Journey to Excellence" by the Indianapolis Colts chaplain, Ken Johnson, he states that no one is born a winner or loser....We're all born choosers. Humans are the only creation that are born with the power of decision.
The earth never decides to just stop spinning on its axes...The sun doesn't wake up one day and decide to stop producing light....and the wildlife of the air, field and the sea can never stop hunting, gathering, and reproducing....they genuinely don't have a choice.
Mankind was created with the power of decision, and with that power comes responsibility. We're responsible for following our passions and using our natural and spiritual gifts in order to live life on purpose.

I mentioned before that nothing in life is without purpose. Our dilemma as human beings is that not every purpose is known. According to Dr. Myles Munroe, where purpose is unknown, abuse is inevitable. Abuse is abnormal use. If something is abnormally used, there's normal use for it. Our time, energy, and focus has been abused by pursuing careers that don't allow our gifts and talents to be put to use. When we neglect or haven't discovered our purpose, all we can do is experiment. Being that we have the power to choose which direction we want to go in life, we find ourselves experimenting with what we are exposed to. Our resumes are filled with experiments. We experiment with retail, fast food, customer service, administration, and a haul of other fields that put our passions and God given talents on the back burner. Although these experiments are necessary to help us as we climb the ladder of success, they are simply meant to be temporary or for a season. I compare them to layovers on a flight. The layover is never the final destination. Instead, we put time, energy and efforts into these nine to fives, and consequently miss our calling by dimming the lights on what it is that we were originally created to do.
I remember working as a clerk at a pharmacy at the University of California in San Diego a few years ago. I was making more money than I'd ever had before. It was one of my first full time jobs. My plan was to earn a decent living while pursuing a career as an actor. Although the salary I was earning was an absolute blessing at the time, I didn't have time to audition for roles. I told myself that I would request less hours in order to make time for auditions, but I was caught up in the paper chase. So caught up that, after some time, I received information about becoming a pharmacy technician. I was enticed by the increase of salary and comfortable living it was going to provide for me. I began to think about finally moving into my own place, buying furniture, owning a better car, affording suits for church, and just living a more comfortable life than the one I was living. For this brief moment I dimmed the lights on my acting career and began to experiment with this possible life of a pharmacy technician. When I snapped out of this delusional possibility, my passion for acting outweighed the quicker, easier road to becoming a pharmacy technician. I couldn't see myself working for this university for 20-30 years of my life when I understood that I have this gift to entertain. I knew at some point that I would wind up quitting to satisfy my passion for acting.
When we discover why we exist, we spark a flame that becomes almost impossible to put out.

WHY something exists is more important than WHAT it is that's in existence. WHY gives WHAT fulfillment.
So often, we have our minds on the WHAT in life as opposed to the WHY of life. We're so exhausted and worn out because we abuse or time and energy on WHAT we're chasing after. WHAT we chase after is usually what we've been exposed to, or what society trains us to pursue.
We have our minds on What relationships we want to get into, What kind of family we'd like to have, What jobs or careers earn a decent salary to just get by, What trades to pick up, What economic status' we'd like to have, What material things we want to posses, What fashion trends we want to follow, What education we'd like to have, and so on. Hip Hop artist Noreaga said it best....WHAT, WHAT, WHAT,WHAT, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT!
But rarely do we allow ourselves the opportunity to discover the WHY behind what it is we're chasing after.
There's a a reason Why you're attracted to certain types of people, Why we major in a particular field, Why we chose certain careers, Why we associate ourself with certain individuals. It's all connected to our purpose or Why we exist. The thing that we are passionate about gives us answers to WHY it is we exist. But, most of the time, we ignore them because they seem too far fetched and out of reach.
Passion is the greatest indicator of purpose. The very thing or things that drive us up the wall and can't stop thinking about, is what we were created to do. It is our responsibility to choose to stir up these gifts and get the training/education necessary in order to gain success in our respective fields.

The most fulfilled an effective people on this earth live #LifeOnPurpose.

5 comments:

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  2. This is a much needed reminder and an awesome read! This blog page is going to have many interacting with you Dayo Olatokun and taking notes! The perspective that you are speaking from is beneficial in both the spiritual and the natural to promote a balanced life for those who really want to we well rounded individuals.

    Thank you for taking the time to invest in the lives of many! It is needed and very much appreciated! Keep up the good work!

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    1. Thank you for taking the time to log on an read. I pray that it is a blessing to you and all who will be reading!

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  3. Amazing Dayo,

    This is something I strongly believe in the 'why' and pursuing that over the temporal. The bible talks about false weights and unbalanced scales. We often forfeit our calling for what is calling us and it leaves us in a pool of regrets later in life. I pray that this blog continue to inspire and by the Spirit of God draw men & women into a more fulfilled life.

    Anu

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  4. Mmm "we forfeit our calling for what's calling us." Love it Anu!

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