“It is hard, so terribly hard, to please yourself. Far from being the easy thing that it sounds like, it is almost the hardest thing in the world, because we are not always comfortable with that true self that lies deep within us.” Christopher Alexander, Architect, Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Do you ever wonder what your life is all about? What is the meaning of life, or perhaps does your life actually have a meaning? When you look around, do you know where you belong, why you are here at all?
We are not always comfortable with these questions. These are the kind of questions that surface when we are trying to make sense of our place in the world. And when we feel lost or a long way from home, we start looking around for guideposts or the master plan. We want it all figured out.
Christopher Alexander is an architect who has believes that these questions: Who am I? Where do I belong? are not signs of confusion, rather they are the basis for building a life based on deep and abiding beauty. He draws parallels between how we build an authentic life, a life of meaning and how we build the places we choose to live – our villages, tents and temples.
“There is one timeless way of building. It is a thousand years old, and the same today as it has ever been… It is not possible to make great buildings, or great towns, beautiful places, places where you feel yourself, places where you feel alive, except by following this way.” Christopher Alexander, The Timeless Way of Building
We can go through life rather like a street child longing for home. We do not always feel like we belong. We can be left feeling disconnected, on the outside looking in. Unsure of what we should be doing, just knowing that we should be doing something.
But what if these questions: Who am I? Where do I belong? are not signs of confusion, rather they are the basis for building a life based on deep and abiding beauty? If you are feeling more like an ugly duckling than a swan right now, here’s a thought:
“A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.” Maya Angelou
Maybe there are no easy answers, but this I know. You are a one-of-a-kind creation, there will never be anyone else just like you. Ever. The way you smile, your fingerprints, the first book you ever read, your favorite friend, what you most enjoy doing, your rights and wrongs, your ups and downs. These things are the meaning of your life.
And maybe today you might think about this. You are here for a reason and on days when you do not feel like you belong. It’s OK. You were not made to be a cookie cutter version of everyone else. You were made to be just this: you.
A bird does not sing because it has it all figured out, a bird sings because it can. And so can you. Do what you were born to do, be who you were born to be. These things are the meaning of your life and mine.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.” Matthew 6 v25-26, NIV
He believes in you.
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What an encouragement! As I prepare to visit the inmates in jail, I realize that even though they all look alike in their blue uniforms…they are most unique, and God has a special plan for each of them. Thank you for reminding me of the uniqueness of each and every one of us. Enjoy your day! In Him, Jo Anne
And love to you Jo Anne, you are a special lady.
C
We are ‘here for a reason’, which is our destiny, and yet it is our free will that manifests this