2010: A year with PURPOSE

Back in December, I wrote a post about Love and Light, thinking one of those words might become my focus for 2010. After writing that post, I continued to ponder the scripture where the Lord promised "rest" to those who accepted His invitation to come unto Him. I was so intrigued by that promise that I looked up rest in the topical guide. It is probably no surprise that other words for rest included comfort, peace and quietness, but what struck me was the suggestion to see Earth, Purpose of. I looked up some of those scriptures but they didn't mean a whole lot to my developing train of thought. However, the word purpose took up residence in my brain:

pur·pose

1. the reason for which something exists or is done, made, used, etc.
2. an intended or desired result; end; aim; goal
3. determination; resoluteness
4. meaning

Synonymns: confidence, constancy, faith, firmness, steadfastness, tenacity, will

Over the next few days, I thought about how well I sleep when I have accomplished something important during the day; about the sense of well-being I feel when I make progress towards my goals; about the happiness I feel when I do something for someone else; about the peace I feel when I finish what has been asked of me... and although it was not a direct correlation, I began to realize that rest and purpose go together!

When we Come Unto Christ, what he gives us is purpose- we know why we exist, why He gave His life for us, why we can look to Him; we see what we can become; we learn how to fulfill our roles and responsibilities and how to endure the challenges that come to us; we understand the significance of our choices and our potential to be like Him and like our Father in Heaven.

And while I know all this generally, I honestly felt like I was lacking purpose.

I am a busy person. I do a lot of things in the course of my week and continue to find my blog title accurate- engaged in activity, but it stung when I read a quote by Mabel Newcomber that said, "Do not mistake activity for achievement." I am a busy person, but am I actually achieving anything in all my busyness?

I know how my sweet friends and family would answer that question and I am grateful for their kindness and confidence. I know I can be hard on myself and I have to work at seeing the good that I do. The truth however, is that I can achieve more. I want to achieve more. If I know the reason I am doing something and the result I want from my efforts; if I have confidence in the activities I choose and understand their importance- then, I believe, I will be busy achieving and not just busy. So- my word for 2010 is:

PURPOSE.

The purpose of life is a life of purpose.
-Robert Byrne

The first step will be to evaluate what I am already doing. Some of the things I do just need their purpose reaffirmed- I take Megan to violin to develop her talent and increase our love for music. Other things will require more purpose in how they are done- like prayer. And some things will have no purpose and need to be eliminated- just because Wal-Mart is close by, does not mean you need to hang out there! Once I have eliminated the things without purpose, maybe I'll have time available for things like reading, scrapbooking, scripture study, learning to use my camera, attending the temple regularly...

But the goal is to act with purpose; to work towards a worthy purpose; to achieve something with each day instead of just riding the rapid current of my life.

If I can figure out how to change it, my title will now read 'anxiously engaged in a good cause' because that is how and why I want to be busy this year.

(started January 5th, 2010)