
Longing to Find Purpose in Life: “What is my place in the world?”
“I’m struggling with purpose”
“Hi Maria,
Since experiencing a brief ‘accidental spiritual awakening’ 10 years ago, I have struggled with ‘purpose’.
During the awakening which lasted for 3 months, my mind was still and my purpose was ‘being’.
When this brief awakening finished my mind was left trying to get back to that place where it was ok that my purpose was simply being.
My mind is now constantly swinging between trying to just ‘be’ (which I mostly find in nature and meditation) and having a purpose in my day to day life.
I feel so different to other people and struggle with friendships etc as it seems the main world is driven by setting and focusing on goals, achieving them and to have a a purpose other than ‘being’.
This leaves me feeling very isolated and alone on this journey; I have read some of your articles on the blessings of being alone on the spiritual journey which have helped.
I long to find my place in the world and to live what God intends for me.
Any tips on how to do this or how to let go and make peace with what is would be greatly appreciated.
Any tips on day to day living whilst waking up would be great too.”
Our Purpose in Life is..
To not be so hung up on One Big Life Purpose,
But to understand that everything we do on a moment to moment basis following our intuition and Divine guidance, is what our current ‘purpose’ is, and from there, the bigger picture unfolds.
Our actions every day adds up, they create something, and what that creation will be depends on where we put our focus.
So focus on what makes you happy, follow your joy, your curiosity and interests.
Our “life purpose” can change many times in our lifetime, we can live many different lives in one life, we can change career and work paths, find new interests and things that ignites our soul,
We are always evolving and becoming more of who we are, so our purpose unfolds moment to moment and our ‘job’ is to follow that which feels most expansive,
What you feel driven or inspired to act upon in this very moment.
Look to your passions; What seems to be calling on you?
In some phases it’s all about doing inner work, and then from that inner work, our outer work evolves, or unfolds.
What’s in front of you to deal with, address, dive into, enjoy, learn, pour your heart and soul into, ..
That’s your purpose, Right Now.
How do you desire to serve?
What would be fun, exciting, fulfilling, interesting, soul-rewarding, meaningful..?
Start anywhere and do That, and from those small steps you take, the bigger picture unfolds.
Every moment is significant in itself and adds to the whole picture of your life,
So all we really ever have to do is to do what we feel inspired to do – today, right now, and then the next steps will always unfold from there.
Life is about being present right here and now, doing whatever that feels most obvious or fun or meaningful, as life is meaningless until we give it meaning,
― So what would be meaningful for you to do? Do that.
What is your area of interest? Where is your passion?
What upsets you in the world? What change would you like to see?
What are the things you think should be different?
Do you ever think “I wish someone could fix this problem”, or “someone should do something about that!”,
Well, why can’t that be you? That could become your purpose.
What do you care deeply about? What breaks your heart to see in the world?
What are you excited about? What comes naturally for you, almost effortlessly? What would be FUN?
Do those things.
Be a change-maker, a way-maker, a builder of something new, a creator, a trailblazer, a powerful life-liver!
Why not?
If you feel resistance or self-doubt, then make it your purpose to remove the internal barriers that are in the way for you to live a life that would feel meaningful for you.
Your life purpose is to be yourself as fully as you can, and always discovering more of who you are,
To follow your excitement, to explore, and to do things that makes you happy or that gives you a sense of meaning,
To be all that you can be, and to use and develop your unique skills, gifts and talents,
And to remember that you are free to choose whatever path you want, so use your free will wisely and make choices that aligns with your inner truth and Soul.
Articles that can be helpful to you:
“How to find the balance between “being” and “human” and not getting stuck in either one”
“50 questions to help you align with your true life and work path”
“22 questions for life and work direction (2/2)”
“Instead of having goals: Receive your purpose”
“If you’re trying to figure out what your life purpose is..”
“Synchronicity and coincidences guides our lives forward”
“Trust your path and the Unknown”
“Why aloneness on the spiritual path is a blessing“
“20 questions that will help you align with the flow and thrive”
“Whatever you give your energy and attention to, that’s the world you step into”
“When you’re gone, what will people remember you for?”
“When you follow your highest calling, Life takes care of you”
If you have anything more specific to your personal life circumstances that you’d like guidance on, then feel very welcome to submit more information via Ask Maria and I’ll write more specifically about those things for you.
“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt
(Original) image by Johen Redman on Unsplash.com



Loved this one Maria 🙌 1000%!!
Was journaling about this topic today myself! Funny that 😄 but I realised we can get so fixated on the “bigger picture”, sometimes due to a lack of self worth and looking to find ourselves in purpose (just speaking from my personal experience, that’s not the case for everyone of course), that we discard the present moment, which is all we ever have. And even if we do reach that big goal, it’ll pass anyway 🙂
Thank you Val, glad to hear you liked it 😊
Yes, the bigger picture is something that unfolds,
I mean, sure, you can get a vision, or image, of how things will look further down the line (regarding whatever path you choose, whether it’s a life-affirming path or not), or in what direction things will go, but there’s always a huge surprise factor involved when you go with the energy of your own life’s flow and where you’re at times completely in the Unknown, only knowing This Exact Moment, and that’s it.
Trusting the Unknown (where the real magic of life happens!) and letting go of the ego’s need to know everything gives the Universe room to give us something we could never had predicted or ‘created’ ourselves.
But at the same time, we’re all different, so some of us can get the bigger picture (or ‘knowing’ where things will go) early on in life, will some of us are ‘late bloomers’ and find our path later in life.
It’s all very individual, but having goals, dreams, etc is also very important as they give us a sense of direction and forward movement, and where we can experience progress, which is wonderful (so you should definitely visualize and imagine great things for yourself).
But the key is always to stay centered in the Here and Now, while still have a focus on things to come (where dreams and visions for our life and future are realized and manifested).
Here’s a couple of other posts that came to mind that you might like:
https://mariaerving.com/focus-on-the-future-in-the-now
https://mariaerving.com/give-your-mind-a-goal
Yes that makes sense!! Thank you 😊