WHAT WILL BE YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO THE WORLD?
Have you ever really thought about these questions: What will be your contribution? What will you leave behind? What will people say about you? Does it even matter? Wow, I sure hope it does.
Let’s think about those people throughout history who have made a contribution. There’s Jesus Christ, of course. Regardless of your religious beliefs, there’s no denying the significant contribution he left behind. There’s Vincent Van Gogh. Whether you’re an art lover or not, we’ve all heard of him and know he’s a famous painter who changed art forever with his contribution. There’s Martin Luther King, Jr. You cannot be an American and not know of his profound contribution to the Civil Rights Movement.
So, who are YOU and what’s your contribution? I understand we can’t all be Jesus’s, or Vincent’s, or MLK’s. However, we all have within each of us the ability and resources to make OUR OWN contribution.
There’s a quote by theologian Howard Thurman that states:
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes YOU come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
I love that – “people who have come alive.” What makes you come alive? How can you make this your contribution?
Maybe you come alive when you knit. Perhaps your contribution could be to donate your creations to a homeless shelter. Maybe you come alive when you fix car engines. How can your love for car engines be a contribution? Perhaps you teach your daughter and her friends how to check and change the car oil, or maybe you teach a basic car engine class for the local community education. Maybe you come alive when you hold babies. You could volunteer to rock the babies at a children’s hospital or daycare center.
The examples could go on and on. The point is, find the thing or things that make you come alive and let yourself create YOUR contribution. It’s usually at this point when your Inner Critic rears its ugly little head and tells you there’s nothing you have that’s worth contributing. Such a total lie. Rise up and put that nasty voice behind you where it belongs.
You see, it’s not about doing it right or having the proper education or having enough money or whatever else gets in the way of finding your contribution. It’s truly about sharing with others what makes you come alive. So, now ask yourself: What makes me come alive? What will be my contribution to the world? Now, go out and do it.
“I am seeking. I am striving. I am in it with all my heart.” –Vincent Van Gogh