People always say that good and worthwhile things take time.
Personal experience has taught me that the things that require patience and time feel more rewarding than receiving whatever I want instantly.
It’s something that happens in “the waiting” worth noting – it builds character if you let it and, ultimately, a piece of your life’s story.
I view every experience we have as a piece of a puzzle we create throughout our time here on earth and the end goal is, of course, finishing the puzzle. However, what many people forget is that the process of putting together the pieces is meant to be enjoyed and savored.
Individual purposes, which can be loosely defined as the gifts given to us to serve humanity, are the most important thing I believe people want to know right away.
Purposes are strange.
Some discover it at early stages in life, some find it later on. Somewhere in recent years, the process of growing into your purpose has become a race – why?
I don’t think purposes were created to be easily obtained, rather, they are designed to stay hidden within you and over time reveal themselves piece by piece at the right moments.
That uncertainty and mystery are what make living exciting.
Unfortunately, society has built a culture around expecting individuals to just know what they were put on this earth to do. Similar to creating beautiful works like the Taj Mahal or Michaelangelo’s painting in Sistine Chapel, you cannot expect something as beautiful as a life’s purpose to be cultivated with a snap of a finger.
In order for our life’s calling to reveal itself fully, we have to first become the person capable of using such knowledge for the greater good. We become that person through the people, experiences and lessons we are destined to pick up along our journey. With that, even if we were able to unlock our purpose at our convenience, we would be doing ourselves a disservice because when something is opened prematurely, it doesn’t operate at its fullest capacity.
In “Letters to a Young Poet”, Rainer Maria Rilke encourages us to have trust in the mystery of life and remain open to what may reveal itself over time:
“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue.”
All good things in life take time and your purpose is worth the wait.
Aaliyah Alexander is a sophomore studying journalism and international studies. Follow her on Twitter @aaliyahdanyell.
