Happy 2016 readers! 2015 was an interesting year for me–with a new pregnancy, a move to a new house, a new baby and my eldest son turning 2, we certainly had our hands full! I didn’t blog as much as I would have liked to, but hopefully that will change this year.
I’ve revamped the blog a little to reflect some changes in my focus. Helping the World for me is inextricably tied into helping myself live better. Helping ourselves live better lives will be a topic I will likely explore more this year. To start, here’s a little story:
I have an acquaintance who was on a long and intense quest to find her perfect mate–her Prince Charming, her Soul Mate, her One and Only, her missing puzzle piece. She dated for many, many years, never settling for anyone until she could find that perfect fairy tale romance and lifelong partner that would complete her. When people would ask her what her criteria was, she would say that she was searching for ‘that feeling’. A feeling, or a spark of some sort where she would just know. A feeling that she had never felt but was hoping to realize at some point. And guess what? She did. 🙂
I think I’ve been on a journey to discover ‘that feeling’ too, but with regards to my life mission of living well and doing good. After many years of reflecting on this, I believe that I am not necessarily striving for a particular goal, or even for an ultimate sense of happiness, or a defined purpose or meaning (and it can be argued that there really isn’t any meaning to our circle of life), but a certain feeling. A feeling of…fulfillment. A feeling of completeness in my being, where what I am being and doing on both a broader scale and in each and every moment of the day feels peacefully unified, cohesive, assured, full and right. So, even if I were to feel less than perfectly happy on a given day, I could still feel fulfilled. Even if there were no ultimate meaning or purpose to my life, I could still feel fulfilled on a daily basis. I am still on a quest to discover and live this perhaps elusive ‘feeling’ of fulfillment. Maybe it will never come. Maybe fulfillment will be found in embracing the journey to strive for it. Maybe the key is accepting that the present moment is the only place to live in that feeling. Maybe it is the synergy of all the small fulfilling moments and of its related components, such as experiences of joy, triumph, achievement, wisdom etc. Or maybe it is in the balance of enjoying life and giving back as optimally as possible, which is what I am exploring through this blog. Years ago, when I started this blog, I wrote a quote to represent my thinking on this: “A fulfilling life involves feeling life’s wondrous gifts in earnest, and acting in such ways that others can experience this too”.
There is so much to explore on this topic. For now, I am curious to know, what does fulfillment mean to you and do you feel it in your life?
1000 Ways to Help the World 
One truly feels fulfilled when one gives – not money, but time, energy, acts of kindness, mentorship, love.
Thank you for this. I really love hearing everyone’s perspectives, and indeed, I agree that giving is at the heart of fulfillment.
This is gold. I almost shed a tear reading this. I am also incredibly happy for your friend who found that feeling she was longing for, that is very relate-able to me. My idea of fulfillment is just being. The day I allow my fullest expression of who I am come to light with no judgement, no walls and no need for external approval, is the day my healing begins, and boy..its going to be a journey. A journey I have come to enjoy.
Thanks for your comment Deepika. I really like how you link fulfillment to having no judgement. I hadn’t brought that into my definition directly, but it’s certainly a part of my journey of fulfillment as well. Letting go completely of judgement is another topic I will explore as well…and it’s a challenging one!