Growing up, people always told me I would make a great teacher. “Because you speak so well,” they used to say. “Because you have such a way with words,” others declared. While I imagined writing the great American novel, my mother and the women in my village saw me in a classroom, chalk in hand poised over a blackboard. Believing this to be my life’s purpose, I took all the college preparatory classes in high school, excelling in English and creative writing exercises which allowed me to express myself...

As a child I wrote sporadically as writing remained in my blood: little short stories to help my sister learn to read and short poems to express my thoughts. Later, I wrote poems to vent my frustration as a single woman. A poem, Swinging from Chandeliers: Does the Warranty Cover This, came about as I too once waded in the pools of relationship dysfunctionalism, and walked in the pumps of the lovelorn before finding my own true love. Mainly cathartic, this poem did not garner any awards. Go figure! 

Still, who would have thought that following career choices that included wearing combat boots and camouflage, facilitating group therapy sessions, and a lifetime spent in higher education, a person would find success writing about unfriendly underwear, husbands behaving badly, and other tales of women’s woe? This realization came about with the release of The Venus Chronicles, a little handbook written to empower women (and men) to laugh at everyday challenges. 

Discovering one’s purpose, finding one’s truth, creating life lists and other self actualization challenges abound. This need to discover something positive, meaningful, lasting and greater than one’s self has become the heart, the soul and the essence of many individuals.  Numerous books, The Purpose Driven Life  and The Power of Purpose-Creating Meaning in Your Life and Work, have become agents for change for many people. 

According to philosophers and others everyone has a soul purpose. Still the question remains -- how does one discover their purpose for living/being?  Some suggest that you start by determining what brings you joy. Ask yourself what gives your life meaning, or what feeds your passion? This may require spending some quiet time alone. For example, do you enjoy helping others? Does flinging paint at a blank canvas feed your muse?  Answer these questions and you are on your way to determining your purpose.

Alas, some people find their purpose early in life, while others wait until much later to do so. I was one of the latter. Still, I eventually discovered mine. Today my books and articles marry humor, inspiration and lessons learned. Things like false eyelashes are not for everyone, as well as other hard truths: such as while satin sheets don’t always promote a good night’s sleep, they do however make lovely shower curtains. I also learned if your brand new toe ring springs off of your middle toe enough times, chances are the family cat with chase after it-- and sit on it. So, starting today discover your own passion/purpose -- and start living it.