Last month, my mother passed away after just turning 93. Even though I understood what she did for me personally, the breadth of her impact was not clear to me. And, to be honest, even unknown to her. From our conversations, it seemed as if she did not realize that she had a Masterful Life.
Being the first of nine children, she outlived six siblings. She survived the depression. She began her married life with no electricity which meant storing baby formula down a well. She gave birth to 16 children. Her and my father raised them while consistently offering love; security; nourishing food and high-quality values.
Those sixteen children went on to have 44 grandchildren and, at the time of this writing, 88 great-grandchildren and eight great-great-grandchildren. Consider the influence of that number of self-reliant people with high-quality values going out into the world.
And that’s not where the story ends. Her and my father were icons in their community offering up their leadership and labor in service. They ran more than one business successfully, utilizing their business and people skills.
Creating a Masterful Life means knowing your purpose and pursuing it every day. We likely have more than one purpose – like my parents who not only raised their children; they fed the community with the abundance from their farm in addition to leading the community with their time and talent.
A Masterful Life has nothing to do with your neighbor next door. We unconsciously think that unless we are well-known and extremely wealthy, we have not made an extraordinary contribution.
Comparing my mother’s life to Elon Musk, there’s no comparison. The lessons that Musk needs to master in this lifetime requires different experiences than the lessons my mother needed to master. (As always, it is only about our own personal growth so comparisons are pointless.) My mother has true wisdom in many things that the rich and famous would be fortunate to possess.
To imbue our days with meaningful purpose is a mission. This applies whether it is in parenting, working, retiring, playing, philanthropizing.
‘Meaningful’ is different for every individual.
How do you determine if it is meaningful? Are you involved in activities that genuinely interest you and are utilizing your talents? I hope so, because that is where your purpose lies and life moves by so quickly. |
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