Pay Attention and Find Purpose

Saturday morning as my husband and I walked down the driveway with my dog for our morning walk, the letter carrier pulled up to our mailbox, and as he placed our mail in the box, he said with pride, "Good morning, this is the last time I'll be here. Today is my last day of work, I'm retiring after 27 years in the Post Office and 6 years in the military." We congratulated him and wished him well in the next chapter of his life's journey (well, I said that, my husband doesn't talk like that). We thanked him for his service to our country and complimented him for his reliable delivery of our mail for so many years. We told him we always appreciated his cheerfulness and kindness. He smiled and pausing with his truck idling said, "Thank you , that means a lot."

My attention kept returning to that exchange over the course of that day, briefly stopping what I was doing, feeling pleased about taking the time to have a real conversation with the letter carrier acknowledging the huge life change he was embarking upon. Every time I paused and thought about that exchange, I felt happy. I felt like the whole day was imbued with sparkle because of the look of pride on his face.

Attention is the gateway to the brain's vast power. What we attend to gets magnified, what we attend to gets strengthened. When we intentionally attend to the moments in our lives that feel meaningful, we start to recognize a pathway to purpose. Given that we have demands for our attention to be pulled toward so many meaningless things, how can we avoid missing what's truly important? It's like walking on a path that constantly has titillating markers luring us to veer off the path only to end up at a dead end. How can we strengthen our attention toward what will help us find our way toward what is truly meaningful?

Being still helps. Pausing during your day and reflecting. Calming the chatter of your mind does, too. Closing screens, turning off the TV and radio. Seeking enough quiet so you can hear your breath move in and out of your body. Sitting in meditation, walking slowly on a labyrinth or in nature. Getting onto a yoga mat, or into a warm pool to float. Closing one's eyes in prayer. Picking up a pen to journal your thoughts or picking up a paint brush to do some intuitive painting. All these are referred to as "contemplative practices" because they train our focus toward our inner landscape. They train our attention to the subtleties of our wise mind that knows what is meaningful and what is fluff.

Purpose is about feeling our life matters and we can make a difference in others lives. When we pay attention to moments when this happens, we are on the right path toward growing a sense of purpose.