Does a Powerful Question have practical value? What does it do for you in real life?

Saying it gives you a path to purpose can sound vague and kind of cliché. In an attempt to bring it down to practical terms, let’s look at the kinds of questions people have discovered in their life story and narrative.

Having been at this for over ten years I have noticed certain themes tend to repeat. One of those themes is the concept of belonging. “What does it mean to belong?” has surfaced in different ways for a number of people. Does that Question bring some new understanding or awareness to the person asking it? Does it generate a plan of action that leads to purpose?

I would suggest that belonging is a basic human need, as basic as foods and water. Asking that Question empowers a person to seek, ask, and expect to belong, not just with a certain group or persons, but with whatever is not belonging in themselves. That kind of seeking and expecting can lead to countless possibilities.

I have had the privilege of participating with the Start the Cycle program for a few years now in Marquette, Michigan. This program is directed by Laura MacDonald, a Powerful Question advocate who found her Question in 2011. Laura and her volunteer mentors help dozens of “at-risk” youngsters each year step up to the challenge and fun of mountain biking. As great as that is, the thing that I see most in these young people is the feeling of belonging and being valued. Their faces light up like Christmas trees as they first put on their team jersey before their big race. Some of have never belonged to anything except their family before. That is the real gift that keeps giving, and the real legacy that Laura is leaving behind.

Those are my thoughts. What are yours?

John