A conversation I had with someone on here many years ago remains with me to this day. When the person, a fellow youth who's long since left the platform, asked me what I would do with myself if money weren't an issue, I didn't have to even think about it.
Writing has always been, and will most likely always be my purpose on this Earth. God-given? Man-made? Who knows, really, but I've no doubt that that is what I am meant to be doing with myself, money or not (because, as we know, it's the fate of fairly few writers to become considerably well-off thanks to the written word).
He just shrugged, and told me "you're lucky. you've never even had to wonder. not everyone gets that." I was 19 at the time. As someone quite resourceful and clever, I'm sure he's done well for himself, though I do wonder if he ever found "it". The conversation's stayed with me.
Obviously, I've tremendous doubts and realize much too often I am doing things wrong, or waste my time when I should be doing more, better, else. I'm regularly torn over the realization that I am wasting time, and that I could, even as I am giving it quite a good shot, that I could be attending to it more, more seriously, more honestly. I think that's kinda part of the deal. That it constantly asks more of you, increasing parts of you, and that you give those. While the first question is answered from the get-go for someone like me, it doesn't mean it's not an ongoing process.
But the primary question, the heart of the question, is answered, and always has been. So when I saw this week's Ladies of Hive prompt,
Based on the phrase: "Identify your talent, and your purpose will reveal itself," how many times have you asked yourself why you’re here in this world, or what your purpose in life is?
I thought, Never. Not once.
I do think the phrase is true, to an extent, though I wouldn't necessarily say talent. Because talent is a word we only seem to understand in certain parameters, and that's not helpful. I think the thing you want to identify is what brings your life a sense of meaning, a grounding of what and who you are in this world, and it can be much broader than what we would normally translate as "talent".
Perhaps a better definition would be something that is of the utmost salience to you. Down the years, I've found artists, interestingly female artists, defining it perfectly.
I'd do it unpaid, unseen, unthanked It's worth more than anything I have.1
Absolutely. As soon as I heard that, I knew it was writing for me. Or,
Knowing any one could take my place Knowing I could give my life for something And it might all be for nothing.2
But then again, what if it's not?
In time, of course, I've struggled to reconciliate it with other things. I've many other interests, dragging me around and, if I'm not careful, threatening to pull me away from my purpose. I get excited easily, and it's always a bit tricky accepting the fact that while these other flickers may be compelling, they'll never hold or even rival that same prime flame status that writing does for me.
In a way, it's disappointing. You look down a road and think this seems also perfectly viable and lovely, but then again, I suspect that might just be me being greedy. No man can have it all. Perhaps I'd be wise to just be grateful for that one invite to the ball, eh?
What's yours?
