by Lela M.
Member since:
August 10, 2007

Making Life Worthwhile

March 03, 2008 06:30 PM EST
views: 93 | rating: 9.8/10 (25 votes) | comments: 25
I have started to wonder here lately, if my life has made any kind of difference in this world.  The world is so vast and amazing and it seems that nothing in my life that is out of the ordinary or amazing.  I am just a very normal person and I've gone through some very normal events, as everyone living on the planet earth has done.  I wonder what make my life worthwhile?  What stands out above anyone else?  I'm just an average person who goes about their daily routine just like everyone else in this life.  I got married, I have a child, I worked, I played, etc., but nothing is amazing. 
     What do you think makes your life worthwhile?  How do you feel about whether you make a difference in life or not?  What sets you apart from the normal lives?  Are you an amazing person?  Do you have a mission in this life to fulfill?  Have you made a difference in this life?  What do you think your purpose is?  Do you feel fulfilled if you were to be gone tomorrow?  What would it take to make your life worthwhile? 

     I am so curious to hear what everyone has to say.  I know that these kinds of questions have been asked before and I am sure they will be again.  Please forgive me if I bore you with these questions.  I'm just trying to find my way.  Thanks, as always, for participating. 
link to this page
Bookmark this post:
Facebook
Twitter
Delicious
Buzz
More

Comments: 25

B F. Mar 3, 2008, 6:58pm EST
I have days where I ponder the same... I just try to do my best in all I do, remember to be kind to others, and try to help out in whatever way I can when I can. Perhaps I am not extraordinary-YET. One day my path will lead me where it does for that extra special thing.
Sandy F. Mar 3, 2008, 7:05pm EST
You've reminded me of a little Sunday School song I was taught. Brighten your corner of the world, it says. And that's what you've done, Lela, brightened your own life and that of your child and husband. Seems like you've done your part.

I hope to leave something in my writing that will have meaning for those who follow me. If that's a great number of people, that would be terrific; but if it turns out to be just my decendents, that's ok too. Because I've been through a lot and learned some things the hard way. No sense of anyone in my family not benefiting from not having to do it the hard way.

Nice question. I like it.
Donald M. Mar 3, 2008, 7:16pm EST
I have been so close to death several times and was spared. this makes me feel like there is something still to be done. But I do feel like I served the ones I loved well and sacrificed for them. I think I gave my all to the people around me. If it is remembered or not when I am gone. I think I gave my all and did the best I could to help everyone around me no matter what.
donna h. Mar 3, 2008, 7:23pm EST
I am always wondering what the point is , why are we even born!
Rebecca D. Mar 3, 2008, 7:27pm EST
We impact more lives than we will ever know. Something as small as letting someone in line ahead of you at the grocery store can make a difference. That person may very well do another nice thing for someone else, etc. That might be the nicest thing anyone did for them all day. You can take someone's horrible rotten no-good day and in just that one moment, you change it for them. When you change that one person's day, you change the world. Sometimes too, a thing that you say or do for someone doesn't really "click" for a good long time. I remember something someone said to me a long time ago. I'd made some flip remark about never going to church for fear I would spontanously combust. This wonderful young woman looked me dead in the eye and told me that once you were a child of God, you were always His child. That was it. No preaching or persuasion or threats of hellfire. She got me back to church, though. It was years later, but her words are what did it. I never forgot them. I only regret that we lost touch and she never knew it. So, never underestimate the impact that an average life can have on the people it touches.
lynn a. Mar 3, 2008, 7:36pm EST
First off, my waking up prayer is to please be a better person today than I was last year. I don't think I am anymore special than anyone else. I like a normal life, normal routine, no big upsets. I won't ever find a cure for a dreaded disease. I won't save a group of people on a sinking ship. This does not bother me. It wasn't in the plan for me. I believe the plan for me was to try to do good things for others quietly. To find those small things I can do that will help make a difference. For me the difference does not have to be major. A small improvement is better than no improvement. A small kindness is enough. This is the way I look at it. And I think at the end, I will have done the best I can do, and that is enough. And no, I'm not ready to go yet.
Fern Cohen Mar 3, 2008, 7:39pm EST
I am dying so I ask myself every day. People have stopped coming around and have forgotten I exist so I don't even know if anyone would come to my funeral at this point, and it would not matter at that point anyway. I wish they cared now. If you want to make a difference, do something nice for a sick friend. If you know someone with a terminal illness, don't assume everybody else is doing it. Or, if you know someone who is a caregiver for a sick family member, go relieve them for a while so they can go out and get away. I wish some of my loved-ones had gotten this advice. Maybe they would come to take me to a movie...
Zara Stevens Mar 3, 2008, 7:47pm EST
If you don't think your life has been amazing or worthwhile, you have to imagine the impact the world would have without you.
Do you have children/a partner/friends/family? All of these people would not be who they are without your influence - so yes, you have done something amazing by simply showing up on the planet!
Have I done something amazing? Absolutely! I showed up too :)
elizabeth e. Mar 3, 2008, 7:59pm EST
Such questions to ponder on a Monday night Lyla...Whew...need to think about this some!
Priscilla P. Mar 3, 2008, 9:08pm EST
I used to ponder these ideas. It was too depressing to realize that I didn't live up to anyone else's expectations and I didn't have any expectations of my own. I don't think there really is much of a me at all so therefore how could me have accomplished anything.
Now, at 66, I just AM.
I know that I will not spend my tiny teacher retirement on medical bills so when the system shuts down that's it--no resuscitation. Otherwise I want to actually live while I am alive and enjoy each hour. Nothing amazing or worthwhile.
I try to live up to what God want's of me. So far I have helped to bring many people into the family of Christ. It warms my heart to know that so many people have changed their lives becasue of God, and that they started on their journey because they came to church with us, or saw how we lived our lives.

But I know that there is another job out there for me. Right now I beleive it has to do with us moving to Costa Rica. I just want to make sure that the venture in my mind is what He wants me to do when I get there.
Debby O. Mar 3, 2008, 9:42pm EST
As long as we are loved by God, which everyone of us is, we are worth while and he loves us all equally.
Emma L. Mar 4, 2008, 2:48am EST
I think I make a difference on a small scale not a large one...and I think we all ask this question.
Dorothy H. Mar 4, 2008, 7:27am EST
I used to ponder things like this. One night after, a good long year of such pondering, I was asleep, dreaming, randomly, the screen of images in my mind went black, and a voice broke in, and said, "Your seed, will be seen standing, 200,000 years, in the future".
This jolted me awake, with a new feeling within me. I understood my purpose. I understood all I have accomplished, and all I have put into place/established.
I've come to understand and appreciate, the value of my own efforts. This has helped me a great deal, to stop working against my own good.
Vana R. Mar 4, 2008, 8:10am EST
The difference you make on a small scale in your perspective...may actually be monumental in the perspective of the individual on the receiving end.

I had gone grocery shopping without my husband. My list included a 40 lb. bag of dog food. I was able to get it onto the bottom of the cart and the lady at the register scanned it from there. Now this may not seem like much weight to some people but to me because of health issues it might as well weighed 100 lbs. When I got to my car I loaded the rest of the groceries but couldn't get the bag into my trunk. I was almost in tears and about to leave it when a woman I didn't know offered to help. This meant the world to me, I was so grateful!

A person doesn't have to be a doctor, a scientist or a Noble Peace Prize winner to make a difference. The little things add up and are just as important as the big things. Everything done that's positive and helpful makes a difference to someone somewhere.
Gwen P. Mar 4, 2008, 8:08pm EST
I think we don't always know how important we are, but still, we are. I think often our presence, a word, a touch, an tiny act, can make a difference directly or indirectly, have a ripple effect that fits a piece into the puzzle of the universe. Every one of us is part of the plan.
Sarah (I want points) Mar 7, 2008, 1:35pm EST
I think we all want to know that somehow our life has made a difference to someone. I hope that I've helped someone in some small way.
Hunter Wallace Mar 10, 2008, 2:16pm EDT
Lela, have you enjoyed your life? Have you experienced love, and given and received it? Have you helped someone or something grow, done a good deed, helped someone in need? All of us have lives worth living -- existence itself is worthwhile. As long as your soul is not destructive or angy, if you consider your life you will see many little things that you have done that have made the world a better place than it was when you found it. If you seek purpose, follow your instincts and see how your talents, time and energy can be used so that you feel the worthiness that you already have.

Peace and warm wishes on your Path,

HW
Good-bye A. Mar 10, 2008, 2:53pm EDT
You make a difference to someone everytime you smile.
Betsy C. Mar 11, 2008, 12:16am EDT
I believe that God has given everyone a mission... mine is to follow his lead!!!
Lela M. Mar 11, 2008, 6:32pm EDT
I really appreciate all the wonderful ways that y'all are able to see how you and people like you contribute to this world. That has made a difference in my life. Thank you.
Dee - Nature Babe! Mar 11, 2008, 6:36pm EDT
I have wondered about this myself. And yet, as a parent I know that I have done something amazing. I am not called to any "mission" yet. My crafts, and my time, are the gifts that I give of mostly. I volunteer and part-time homeschool. I stitch and crochet and then give those things away.

While I may be a nobody in some's eyes, I know that I am someone to God and my family.
Rebecca D. Mar 15, 2008, 3:03pm EDT
Just living a comfortable and harmonious life pours all kinds of positive energy into the world. You have not only the right but the responsibility to be as happy as you can be...as long as you don't do it at someone else's expense. There's a phrase that I can't quite remember about bestowing unknown benefits onto the world by being happy yourself.
Glome . . . May 4, 2008, 2:08pm EDT
Oh Lela ... the wonderful Uncreated Being that created you has His own plan for you. He says someday, "We will know as we are known." Someday we'll know His plan and see what He was accoplishing in us. That's why choosing to trust Him is so exciting. The peace that comes in when you approach Him and accept his gift of new life in Christ is real. I looked around that day and couldn't believe this had been going on across the earth and I knew nothing about it :) I left religion that day and ran after Christ. He said two (many) things that are interesting. He said that we were to do good works that were planned for us before our creation once we came to Him. He also said the day of our death is in His hand.
I know you already know all this ... it's just so a hopeful exciting subject I can't keep from bubbling :) My life changed the day I said I wanted Him to take over 49 yrs ago and peace & love through the Bible and His Spirit have never left or failed.
If anyone isn't really sure what the simple truth of the Bible (not religious rules) is ... isn't sure what He means by trusting Him, please email me. Sorry. Didn't mean to preach ... but Lela, such a potent question with such great answers. Thank you for being so transparent and asking the hard questions.

Join the Conversation
Chime in! Become a Gather member to comment.
Already a member? Sign in
top
 
Gather | Friends | Groups | Share
About Gather | Engagement Marketing | Make New Friends | Gather Points | Advertise on Gather | Gather Press | Privacy | Terms of Service | Community Guidelines
Books | Celebs | Entertainment | Family | Food | Health | Moms | Money | News | Politics | Spirituality | Sports | Travel | Writing
Version 16836, "Oz"; Copyright © 2009 Gather Inc. All rights reserved.