Purpose, according to the web is, the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists. I'm guessing from this definition that the "something" they are referring to can be something good or something not so good. I'm also inferring that the purpose is conscious, but I suppose it could just as easily be unconscious.
Extrapolating from this, it says to me that if I'm living my life "on purpose," then by my definition, I'm consciously aware of the how of my life. What is seen in my physical or mental surroundings should be the result of conscious thoughts and actions which then create all the things seen in my life.
In the past, I think I was only minimally living my life on purpose. I purposely decided to go to college. I purposely decided to get into computers. I purposely decided to move to a different city--stuff like that. From this perspective I've been reasonably successful in living my life "on purpose." These are all purposes that mainly serve the self called Betsy. But, I also think there's something more to living your life on purpose, a higher calling if you will.
I operate from the precept that life is a gift. It's a privilege to be here. I didn't used to think that way. I used to think it was my right to be here on this planet and that my purpose for being was to live the kind of life I preferred, everyone else be damned. However, with age and wisdom, I finally came to the conclusion that we're all in this together. One only has to look at the web to realize this is actually a very small world indeed. If all seven billion of us at this point are operating exclusively (and selfishly) for our own purpose then that doesn't leave much room for thinking of others, except perhaps in small ways.
Living as though life is a gift changed my perception. Now living life "on purpose" means that I have a part to play in ensuring that I am doing, thinking and saying the things that enhance not only my life, but the lives of others as well. The greater purpose for humanity and the planet far out-weighs the mostly selfish everyday purposes of my own small life. And though I can say, think and do things only in my miniscule part of the world, those things are like ripples in a pond, ever growing outward in widening circles.
“Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch that
I have got hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as
brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.”
~ George Bernard Shaw
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