The Gift of Wonder

What if your existential crisis isn't pulling you away from your purpose—but refining it?

I'm coming to terms with a periodic existential crisis and I'd argue that that can even be a good thing??

An existential crisis that leads to asking yourself the question of whether what you’re doing is aligned with what you know are your giftings/callings and of course your purpose.

This is assuming that you’ve already started unpacking this part of your journey, and if you haven’t, that’s okay… this might motivate you to start the journey of wonder. I say this assumingly because in reality we are all here for a purpose and have a mission. I don’t think that’s a fact that goes over anyone’s head to be honest. I think we are all in a constant state of wonder because that’s literally in our original design. 

“Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.”

‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭3‬:‭11‬ 

I’ve been on this journey for quite some time and I’d say I have a pretty clear vision of where I'm going or where I’d like to go, and yet still, every so often I experience this existential crisis I mentioned earlier. 

I don’t have a big “aha” moment to share but instead I’m writing here in wonder of who can resonate? Is it perhaps good that we experience this “crash out” every so often? Maybe it’s something that in our own human way, gets us back on track. 

When a child is in their “but why?” phase, parents often grow impatient with the questions, but there is something so beautiful about the curiosity that a child carries. The curiosity of how the world works and they, in their own little minds, are piecing together how and why things make sense. I think when we remain in a state of wonder, it challenges our minds to expand, and truthfully even pushes us to greater heights. 

I’d challenge the “crash out” .

I'd challenge you to give yourself grace and when you begin to revisit the state of frustration, I challenge you to sit with that.

Take a good ol’ piece of paper and pen (or pencil if you’re into that) and start to unpack those thoughts. Where did the disconnect start? Where is it that you’re not feeling fulfilled?  When you do this enough times, you’ll eventually come to a place where there aren’t many “drastic” changes anymore but rather small refinements that enhance alignment.

So from one wonderer to another, how are you unpacking this?