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Photo by Neven Krcmarek on Unsplash
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Over the past year, I've begun to uncover my purpose in this life - what am I here for and how do I find fulfillment in that purpose? Is it ongoing or is it a one-time goal that I will eventually achieve? What then if that is the case?
There are so many questions to ponder and endless thoughts about the what-ifs and hypothetical future I could potentially have, based on the notion that I knew exactly what my purpose was, that is.
I've known that I'm meant to be a storyteller - that I am a writer and creator, but that alone didn't resonate with me or drive me to work towards any one goal of actually being those things. I already was those things, but there wasn't a sense of fulfillment from bestowing upon myself these titles. Works have been created, but to no real purpose or reason. The question is how to make this state of being something more tangible...more real.
It wasn't until a couple of weeks ago when I read an article about Reese Witherspoon who spoke of the creation of her own production company, Type A Films, and how the company initiated, that I had a moment of reckoning. Her story draws parallels with my own with the company I work for and how I've addressed the things that were missing from our work culture. I realized I was part of the problem by not offering solutions, so I pressed for creating options to resolve the issues I encountered. I triumphed by creating, by sharing, by telling my story.
That is also what Reese has done in a sense - she found the need to tell stories. That drives her business. They produce films around stories that need to be told, and do so because the problem was that there weren't enough women in film, let alone stories about women. They aim to resolve this problem by sharing stories about extraordinary women.
That is my purpose. Not necessarily to be a film producer, (because that would be incredible, but not an end-all for me) but to have multiple mediums in which to tell a story that deserves to be shared - about extraordinary people whose stories belong to the world.
I've been adopting this idea that stories don't belong to us - they belong to the world. In writing my own story, it's helping to shift my thinking of myself as being the owner of the story to being a conduit and vehicle for the story. The story belongs to those it will inspire. Who am I to not share it? This gets me out of my own head, silencing the critic inside that constantly nags and reminds me that I am a nobody whose story isn't important enough to share. When I think about honoring the story itself though, I am reminded that I am an extraordinary woman and I learned young how to live my life with purpose. That IS extraordinary. My story is special and it needs to be shared.
So, my friends, my purpose is to write, create, produce, and design artistic pieces that tell these sacred stories - that honor them and truthfully represent the sharers of those stories.
What's next for me? To listen. To seek opportunities everywhere I go and in any place I go. To get outside of my own head and learn to embrace interactions. To embrace humanity instead of hiding from it.
What's your story?
Em