Introduction: What Is This Journey We Are On?

Is there anyone on this planet who has never scratched his head and wondered what the heck he was doing here? One of the major questions throughout the ages has been exactly that. Why are we here? Every time someone comes up with what they think is the answer, someone else comes up with what they think is the better answer. Then there is a war...a bit oversimplified, but basically that seems to be the pattern. The problem with this is that people are trying to tell other people what they are here for. No one can do that because they are not in your shoes.

However, being creatures of free choice (and that, in itself, is a whole other blog), we can select whose ideas we want to follow. We do this because of our programming, our past experience, our parents' or our peers' beliefs, necessity. How often do we do it because we truly want or need to?

Let's try this...sit down in a quiet place, breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth a few times to relax yourself, and visualize, or feel, or remember the last five activities you have engaged in. Don't worry if they are the "right" ones or not. Don't worry if something is not necessarily an activity. Just jot down the first five events that come to your mind. List them in order as you recall them on a piece of paper. Leave a little space between each one.

Now, take the first one on the list. Close your eyes again and recall the activity, remember the taste, the smell, the tactile sensations you may have had, the way the place looked. Most importantly, recall how you felt about that activity--were you happy, impatient, indifferent, excited, couldn't wait to do more of it, disgusted? Mark down your reaction to the event.

Then, for that same first one, mark down whether the activity was for personal, business, recreational or social reasons. Also mark down whether it was voluntary or if you were somehow commanded/coerced/pleaded into doing it. Was it for yourself or someone else? What percentage of your day was the activity taking?

Do that for the remaining four activities. Then organize the list into positive responses and not-so-positive responses. Which ones stand out in each category. Circle them. These can be important discoveries in your quest for the answer to what am I here for? For instance, here are my answers:

1. Set up this blog and started typing post. Business, exciting & fun, room was messy though and it would have been more comfortable for me if room was tidier. The project is for me, and so far it has taken up about 35% of my day.

2. Spoke to my three dogs and played with them briefly. Personal, fun. Same room though as in #1. The project was for both me and my dogs, voluntary, although they did ask for a little play time, and it usually takes up 5% of my day.

3. Read the forum at my website and answered a couple of posts made by members. Business & personal, interesting & engaging. Voluntary, mostly for me, some for the other people, takes possibly up to 15% of my day.

4. Made lunch for me and the dogs, then tidied up the kitchen. Personal, enjoyable. Kitchen looked neat and clean when I finished. Voluntary, although it's an self-imposed obligation to feed my dogs. If I am to enjoy them, they must be fed. Feeding myself and them generally takes about 15% of my day. I thought at the time I cleaned up the kitchen that I wished my office looked that way. Made mental note to tidy office today.

5. Answered phone for hubby's business and talked to customer briefly. Business. My main reaction was annoyance that the customer would phone on a holiday (civic holiday in Canada). Not a huge deal though. The activity was for someone else, although it is a self-imposed obligation. If my husband's business prospers, it benefits me too. Maybe I can get that new computer I have my eye on :P

So four out of five activities, including my current activity, were positive and evenly split between business and personal. I learned that my messy office bothers me more than I realized. I also confirmed that I am more or less doing what I want to be doing in life.

And here is the kicker. If you are happy more often than not, you are probably doing what you are here for. If you are forcing yourself or are unhappy or too tired all the time or under pressure, chances are you are not doing what you are here for.

As for the fifth one, it was my fault. Since it was a holiday, I should not have answered the phone. I would have saved myself those few moments that I will never regain. I don't mind answering the phone during business hours. It's a small thing to do to assist my husband's business and it's not that much of an interruption. Next time, I will be aware of my hesitation and not answer the phone. If it is someone I want to talk to, I can always call them back from call display or the answering machine.

So now, what did you learn about yourself from this little exercise? Anything useful? It doesn't have to be a life-changing epiphany. Small things can sometimes be more telling than large ones.

In this blog we will explore ways and find information and take steps to take more charge of our lives by being aware of what it is we are here for; what we want to do; where to draw the line between wants, needs, and obligations. Thanks for reading my first post. I hope you enjoyed it.