“First, one must get to know oneself. Then, having become familiar with oneself, one can live one’s life more deeply. Living one’s life more deeply is the meaning of dharma.”
—Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje
 

f you don’t know what direction to take or find yourself confused about your purpose in life – please stop.

Stop and sit. Face a blank wall and pause. Quit running into traffic trying to find the answers amidst the noise. Clarity won’t come to you from scrambling desperately toward your future. At best you’ll make an impulsive decision from urgency, or you’ll wear yourself out running laps in your mind.

Sit long enough to inquire within. Then sit a bit longer. Sit until your consciousness touches upon something new you haven’t seen before. First, you’ll begin to become aware of preferences, the things you like. Then, you’ll naturally see the things you don’t like sitting on the other side. Things you’re interested in and not interested in.

But sit longer. Sit until you ask yourself, “What have I been given? What gifts have I been blessed with? What have I worked hard to learn? What have I experienced in this lifetime? Who am I really?”

Sit even longer. Sit until it occurs to you to ask, “What do I have to give back?” Even if it’s only a little bit of your life story, something as measly as a triumph or turning point only you know about. Something you shrug your shoulders at, but others would perhaps admire.

Sit longer. Sit until the question arises, “How would I like to be spent?” There’s how you’ll be spent if you choose to let autopilot spend you, if you continue listening to and believing the stray thoughts that pull you further from Center. But there’s also how you could be spent if you asked Life to spend you, if you sat down patiently and listened deeply for the answer.

And then only get up when the answer comes to you despite you – especially if it doesn’t make any sense to you at all.

Because Life doesn’t want the first, second, or even the third layer of you. It wants your heart, soul, and marrow. It wants what you pass by and don’t see. It wants the priceless you fail to value.

It wants you as it sees you.