Purpose, struggle, peace, and sCORE…

Peace and struggle do NOT seem to belong together.  Come to think of it, neither does the need to discover our uniqueness seem to square up with our equal desire to belong together.  Huh?

Confidence and humility don’t make sense together either.  Now that I’m awake and oriented a bit, does it make much sense that we humans have a brain that is divided?   I mean why in the world do we need left and right hemisphere’s?  If we are supposed to be holistic people wouldn’t it be nice if “our cpu” had it more “together?”  So many questions, so little time to think. Back to the first.

Peace and struggle.  The blog titled, “What more can the heart of a man desire” continues to get the most air time on this tiny blogsphere.  Why, I continue to ask myself and others in this tiny, but meaning filled system.  My conclusion is because it hits at our heart.  We all want to walk the earth in peace and we all want to live a life laced with meaning and purpose.  Both objectives are laced with struggles.  Walking the earth in peace isn’t easy to do alone, much less with 6.5 billion other people trying to do the same.  Talk about a recipe for conflict!!

Discovering your purposes in life is complicated by too many people, too many options, too many circumstances beyond our control, too many insecurities, too many competitors, too many responsibilities, and too little time.  Hmmm…

Hey wait a minute.  Isn’t this blog about peace and struggle?  What’s purpose doing in here?  Good question.  Maybe peace and struggle belong together more than I initially thought.  Maybe if we add another element it will all make sense.  Maybe if we clarify our PURPOSES first, we will more readily accept the struggle that is sure to come and have a sense of peace as we “pursue it anyway” regardless of the failing that comes with trying.  

Now that I am really waking up, this whole piece is coming together.  I’ve heard this story told before.  You have too.  Every Hollywood script repeats this story.  We don’t seem to tire of this story.  EVER.  This is the heart of the Hero’s Journey, the most frequently told story throughout history.  The story of someone “normal” leaving their village to do something amazing.  On this journey the “hero” will struggle mightily.  They will fall and fail early and often.  They will continue to get up because of their sense of purpose in their mission.  Their journey doesn’t always end well.  Somehow, though, they always appear at peace with the result.  This makes sense….at least to me.  Very cool.

Purpose.

Struggle.

Peace.

sCORE.

Are your CORE Purposes worth struggling toward?

Have you spent the time cultivating your CORE to be at peace with who you are, who you are becoming, and where you’re going?

Are you on your Builder’s Journey toward your CORE Purposes, through real struggles, and somehow peaceful at the same time?

Is your CORE, through your embracing of the struggle, being transformed into your sCORE?

Does LOVE guide and inspire you or FEAR simply drive you?

Slow down and reflect…

This Christmas season pick up a good book on the subject and slowly read and write what your think.  I recommend Rick Warren’s bestseller, The Purpose Driven Life.  Not the ideal title, in my opinion, but a worthy read.  Man’s Search for Meaning, written by Viktor Frankl is disturbing and a must read .  I also recommend Os Guinness’s book titled, The Call.  Check one of these out.  They won’t be easy reads,and they may cause you to think “divided.”  AND, they may help you make more sense of how purpose, struggle, and peace belong together.

Purpose. Struggle. Peace. sCORE. Purpose, struggle, peace, and sCORE.

Peace…