Mission - and what is before it
Article and cover illustration from July issue of Vejzde, the local youth magazine.
Are you afraid of getting bored in an 8-hours-a-day office job? You saw your parents work for money without being satisfied and gathering real self-esteem by doing something challenging that their heart would ask for deep inside? You decided to choose a different path? Welcome to the club!
In my point of view, the purpose of life for each person should be to find our true calling. We are all unique creatures and apart from making sure that we are happy with what we are doing and how we are living, it's our duty to make the most out of our skills and personality also for the common well-being. It can sound excessive but it's true indeed what Gandhi said:
"Be the change that you want to see in the world."
To find this so-called 'true calling' is not always easy. Material western society put a lot of expectations towards us - on the deepest level. It leads to the pattern that we think we want something because we are conditioned by socialization to want it. Because of this, the only way to find out what we really want from the bottom of our hearts is to dig deeper. How?
I believe every person who you meet and interact through your life, is a teacher in the meaning that he/she shows you a different piece of the universe - by his/her only existence and interactions towards you. Connect with different people whenever you can and feel like. Talk about whatever you are interested in. Ask questions and get answers.
Be open-minded and ready to change your opinion. Sometimes we have conceptions dug so deep in us that we are not even aware that these are only conceptions. Not facts. The majority of us don't really know facts but have massive conceptions that we are considering as the absolute truth. Ancient Greek sophisticated philosophy says: thinking should be an endless process in all directions. It means that in the optimal case, we keep on rationally thinking about something and trying to find as many aspects as possible. But in practice, it stops when we set an opinion. When emotional elements and moral get into the game, you stop rational thinking and set your opinion. I find this concept very interesting because it says that basically to set any opinions is for stopping free thinking… Food for thought, right?
To look outside of your box is the best way to keep going. The more things we try and see, the richer personalities we become and the wider perspective we will have then. I’ve been judged for example by labor market representatives (almighty HR managers) that I have too short-timed experiences in too many different fields. I was shocked when this was the reasoning why they didn't hire me. I mean... Wtf? I deeply believe that not only thinking should be endless but learning also. Forget the people who want you to have stability and fix, set things in your life. Maybe this is simply not your way. Maybe it is, but later. When you are finishing seeking that something that I think we all look for. The big WHAT and the big WHY.
Happy mission seeking for everyone!
