So many people are searching for a way to feel their life has a greater meaning. If they are Catholic and Christian, they believe that meaning will begin and end with God. But, we want to feel it and know it, not just believe it. When a person discovers their powerful question they will feel it, they will know it. It happened to me and it happens to everyone who finds their question. This is the intentional search for meaning.

Is there anything more important than coming face-to-face with our own truth? And, for those of us who have, do we see it as an invitation to a new relationship with ourselves as well as with God? Do we remember that God already knows that truth and loves us anyway?

Just asking for a friend.

Happy New Year!

The beginning of a new year gives us a fresh start, an opportunity to reset the clock and do some reflecting. Many use this time to think about new goals involving diet, exercise and finances. Doing so can help us avoid the bigger question, “Am I happy?”

If the answer to that question makes us uncomfortable, it is time to consider whether we are living a purpose-filled life. A purpose-filled life is passionate and vulnerable. It demands our commitment and our sacrifice. It is no less than the quest for the holy grail. Being on that journey is the definition of “happy.”

Some choose a pilgrimage; I know people who have walked the famous Camino in Spain. There are many such journeys, each travelled with the hope of personal discovery and the reward of having “done it.” For those of us without the time, money, or energy for such an adventure, there is another way to ensure our own epic quest. I will share the secret to that happiness over the next few weeks. Stay tuned.

I was recently asked if finding your powerful question is a “going inside” process. The question gets to an important point. We typically gravitate to either internal or external when we want to reflect on our life. If we are injured or hurt we often do a quick internal assessment ie, “How is this affecting me?” If we want to consider whether we feel good about our life we often begin by taking an external inventory of what we have and what we have accomplished.

Discovering our powerful question requires both an internal and external examination. Stay with only internal and you will likely encounter judgmental self-talk and old scripts that can keep you stuck. Stay with only the external and you will likely miss the deeper meaning of accomplishments, successes and failures. Finding where internal and external intersect, and staying with any tension that may exist there is the sweet spot where powerful questions can reveal themselves.