What Is Our Purpose In Life?

Imagine the following stories:

A retirement-age couple decided to move into a violent neighborhood filled with gangs, drugs, prostitution,
A young millionaire giving away all the riches he had worked hard for,
A mother to an unborn child with down syndrome deciding to keep the baby.

By most standards, their actions do not make any sense.

Why would we put ourselves in a position where we would abandon our own comfort and subject ourselves to such incredible pressures and challenges?

The older couple heard about a neighborhood that was called “Blood Corner” - which had the highest day-time crime rate in the whole Los Angeles. It pains them to hear about the children in the neighborhood - the kids who lost their parents to the gang war, drugs, and crime, the kids who were being used as drug runners - they were dying from gun shots every week. They had to move in and attempt the impossible because without it there would be no future for the people in the community. Years later, they managed to get the drug dealers out of the community and restored the community to start fresh. They provided schooling and empowerment for the latchkey kids.

The millionaire’s happiness was always short-lived. At a certain stage of this life, his riches made him a person that he suddenly realized he did not like. So he gave his money away, moved to a village, and started helping people. The temporary happiness of winning the rat race in life was replaced by the happiness of helping others and making other people’s dreams come true.

The woman who gave birth to a child with down syndrome immediately went to work to get information, found ways to teach children with down syndrome how to read, fought for social injustices regarding children with disabilities, gathered up key individuals and eventually founded an organization that improves the quality of life of families with individuals with down syndrome. She introduced the sign language to help mothers communicate with their babies. They have a large community of families and supporters of their cause.

These individuals are all heroes in their own ways, simply because they believed in something and did their best to achieve what they wanted. They fought for injustice, they help others, they raised awareness.

The other day I was listening to Building a Story Brand with Donald Miller’s podcast and heard the voice of Adrienne Bankert, the author of Your Hidden Superpower - The Kindness That Makes You Unbeatable At Work And Connects You With Anyone. She mentioned about the genuine kindness - helping others without any agenda or expectations, which made me reflect on these three stories.

To say that the results of these people’s actions are profound is an understatement. And the best part is, the ones that feel the fruits of their labor the most is not them. It is other people, it is the community. A community that is tight and strong, can withstand any storm.
And that is what makes the stories beautiful, a reminder that goodness still exist.

One person from the three stories mentioned:
“Our presence must benefit other people”
Such as simple statement, but if we think about it, wouldn’t it be such a beautiful thing if at least half of us try to do this in our daily lives?

This statement becomes my manifesto.

——
Explore the stories below:
Realizing A Dream
The Simplicity Of Happiness - “Most Inspiring Film” winner, 2020
The Ripple That Created Waves