“A Woman in harmony with her spirit
is like a river flowing.
She goes where she will without pretense and arrives at her destination
prepared to be herself
and only herself ”
- Maya Angelou
I had the pleasure of watching a conversation between authors, Zadie Smith and Chimamanda Adichie, yesterday. A friend, who knows me so well, literally called me to tell me to get onto my laptop and watch the live-stream. The Zimbabwean internet gods were smiling upon me and I listened with no interruptions or hiccups :)
Towards the end, audience members submitted questions. One of the questions came from a 25 year old woman who described being on the verge of a quarter life crisis and asked Adichie how she had discovered her purpose and what advice she would give to help someone else discover theirs. Adichie said at 25, she never thought in those terms and how that puts too much pressure on us, as individuals. Essentially she said, "Life is short, just live and follow your heart." Smith then jumped in to say how people who have found what they love don't necessarily recognise that that is a gift. Many people out there do not know or have not found what it is that they love so they are in constant pursuit and wondering about it.
I agree with both Adichie and Smith. There is this preoccupation with finding purpose which I think many people go about in the wrong way. It is not a science. I believe "finding your purpose", is a much more organic process. It's like falling in love in the sense that, you don't have to think too much or analyse it. You just know - it becomes so evident and the dots connect.
To me, purpose can manifest itself in many different forms and you can grow/evolve in that purpose. It's not tied to one specific job title, industry, field, or place. Be in tune with yourself: what are your values, what do you care about, what makes you happy.
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