Pieces exploring our sense of purpose and life’s meaning
“But the inner being needs to feel their life means something.”
We’re nothing without each other by Victoria Gray
To express my sense of purpose,
I need to establish what an existence without me looks like.
There would be three sad cats meowing
without their human’s voice to reassure.
Parents devastated by a phone no longer picked up.
Friends left without a good chuckle for when things are going wrong.
No more smiles for strangers, no impact on another life.
The world is a little bit brighter with all of us.
So I think our sense of purpose is to stick around together.
Sense of Purpose by Students of Trinity Academy
A group poem
I don’t think anyone has a purpose
My purpose is to fix things
I want to be a mechanic
My sense of purpose is helping my mam
My purpose is to look after me ma
Me ma is my purpose
I think about when you die
Yes
Yes
Sometimes
My family is my purpose
I always felt like my family is my purpose
And as I say by Pat Spence
I swore I would never go sheltered
I’m here on my own
And sometimes I get sick
I don’t think I’ll…
I’ll probably not move from here
It’s just as I say
The place is nice
Apart from the bits that are falling off it
Just plod along
Everybody’s alright
And as I say
Sometimes
I get a little bit down
There’s not a lot to do
I haven’t been this alone since my husband died
Start the day with a swing in your step by Kate Bowman
Step outside
Head up
Shoulders straight
Off we go
One, two, three, four
Swing arms
Pick up pace
Up the hill
Out of breath
Good – heart pumping
All is well.
Cemetery gates
Lawnmowers roaring
Bins tipping
Flower beds weeding
Garden of rest
Ashes scattered
Flower tributes laid
Rest, respect, reflect.
Head up
Shoulders straight
Off we go
Up the hill
Dogs panting
Owners walking
School gates open
Cars streaming
Children shouting
Round the block
Work beckons
Door opens
Step inside
Laptop open
Press the button
Off we go.
Busy doing something by Sandy Irvine
Retirement leaves many people with a hole in their lives that working life had filled. I was one of the lucky ones who did not find the transition difficult. I feel I’ve got a strong sense of purpose, trying to make the most productive use of my time. Yet the first weeks of the Covid lockdown really tested that sense of purpose.
With most things closed, it would have been so easy to let things drift, the days just slipping by with little to show for them. To be sure, as ever there were always bits and pieces to do around the house but, now, there was a lot of extra time to fill. The first resolution was to try and stay fit, now I could no longer go swimming or attend weekly Yoga and Pilates classes. By chance, I stumbled upon a brilliant set of home keep-fit videos put out for free by ‘HASfit’ on YouTube.
That was followed by a decision to do daily walks. It was genuinely surprising what new things could be found in the neighbourhood, the Main Dike Stone in South Gosforth being one such discovery. I knew there had been a coal mine nearby but not that its opening had been commemorated. The absence of traffic — and some decent weather — did, of course, encourage getting out and about on foot.
I’d like to boast that such activities demonstrate that I’ve got a strong sense of purpose. But honesty demands that I admit that my resolve, especially in the case of nearly daily HASfit sessions, sometimes needed buttressing by my wife. It would have been so easy to find excuses not to bother. Together, we also decided to really get a move on with our plan to make our garden more wildlife friendly.
But one choice I made and stuck to, all by myself. I decided to do concerted listening. I’ve got a fair-sized CD collection but, again, it would have been easier to just listen to the radio or watch TV. Instead, I actively planned a programme of music. In those first few weeks, I listened to the whole of Wagner’s ‘Ring Cycle’, every Beethoven symphony, and all albums from the ‘Transatlantic Sessions’ series, plus much more.
Lockdown was hard for many and worse for some. Even for more fortunate people, time could still drag. But I found that the Covid cloud could, nonetheless, have one or two silver linings. It was keeping hold of that sense of purpose that largely made the difference for me.
Life needs Purpose by Violet Rook
Maslow hierarchy of needs indicates at the top of his pyramid of needs that a Sense of Purpose is vital for the development of the individual and this is a major need for each of us.
We all need food and drink, warmth and shelter. But the inner being needs to feel their life means something.
This is important in the scheme of life, but also for the person to feel
their existence is important and also, they can and have made a difference.
My aim in life is to help each individual reach their full potential and to this end I have worked as a midwife and nurse and then teaching health.
In this work I have encouraged individuals to treat each other as they would be treated.
Kindness and understanding are vital to life.
Express It by Alexandra J Edgar
It echoed from a cavernous, cacophonous space where it repeats a tuneless beat. Beats of the past give way to visions of the future in the stillness of now. It said come out, represent, be harmonious and let it sing in tuneful shrill.
It is what we send out into the world. Let’s have a think about what message we are sending out, how it affects me and you in our technical, record, playback times.
We should just “ Go Live”, share imagination, build resilience. Appealing to some, insignificant to others. Rest and listen to the awkward internal chaos, the results from too much access. Move on, shut up, move on.
Stridently sharing hopes and dreams, ideas, connections, resonance, hope and healing. Create some peace and let your power flow. Go ahead express it, that voice that you listen to alone.
Where did I put it? by Ann Gittins
Has anyone seen my sense of purpose? I’m sure I had it somewhere, sometime. Perhaps I have dropped it or left it in a drawer upstairs.
I have to admit that, in any case, my purpose is hard to sense these days. It evaporates. Once upon a time it was strong, it was firm. A firm purpose. That sounds good.
At work, in school, it was even written down, recorded. There were lesson plans with learning outcomes, tested and assessed to ensure they were achieved. There was a shared vision, published in brochures, celebrated in assemblies and mentioned in meetings.
Now I don’t have to earn my living and I am alone in the house. To find my ultimate purpose, I have to go face to face with the Meaning of Life. What is it? What is the point? I really should have discovered it by now. But the thought is too much.
So my purpose comes in little spurts or dribbles. It may be to find the right buttons for something I have knitted, or to pick the apples on the tree in the garden before the wasps eat them all. Its sense can last for a whole day but usually I forget it within the hour and move on to something else.
On my way to work, I used to drive past a rather dilapidated building with a sign over the door ‘Done Our Bit Club’. I think it was for ex-service men. I never went in, but I count myself as an honorary member now. I’ve done my bit and can allow myself the guilt-free luxury of purposelessness. I don’t bother with philosophy or delving deep. I’m happy to just be.
Tomorrow I may get up and use those apples to make some chutney.
Me, who and what am I by Anne Raffle
Anne
Accountant
Adviser
Banker
Counsellor
Driver – back seat
Eager
Financier
Family
Gardener
Housekeeper
Involved
Insecure
June baby
Kindly
Listener
Letter writer
Loyal
Music lover
Normal
Ordinary
Polite
Questioning
Reader
Singer
Trouble
Unassuming
Versatile
Warmhearted
Xenial
Young at heart
Wife, Mum, sister, aunt, friend, colleague, carer.
