Where are You?

What can you find only when you’re not looking for it?

So many people are searching for significance, for a place, for a purpose, for some sense of meaning in this world. 

They seek for something to prove they are worthy; they are special; they are important.  Some look for love, for another person to approve them and meet their needs.  Others look to work, for a sense of success, accomplishment or power. 

Others seek escape from the feeling of loneliness in addiction, whether it is food, alcohol, shopping, video games, or some other vice. 

Ironically, the harder someone tries to find love and fulfillment by meeting their own needs, the more elusive those things seem to be.

Instead, the people who have found “happiness” as defined by an undercurrent of joy and an inner peace, are those who didn’t ask how other people could make their lives better.  Instead of looking to their own well-being, they ask, “how can I meet the needs of other people?” or “who needs me today?”

By focusing on other people, a person’s real passions and talents shine, without a forced effort.  The tedious worries of daily life fade away as the heart feels compassion and the mouth speaks words of comfort and encouragement. 

What can you find only when you’re not looking for it?  Yourself.