Many of us have seen the movie Soul. Even though the movie is a cartoon and geared towards children, there are good messages regarding life, spirituality, mindfulness, purpose, and spark.
As adults, we get bogged down with the day to day that we forget to be. I am sharing some examples from the movie and how they correlate to adults trying to find their way to their purpose.
Our spark is the thing or things that set our souls on fire. Sometimes we find the spark when we are not looking, and other times we lose our spark and have to find it again.
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While many people believe your spark is your purpose, it is not always the case. Your spark can lead you to your purpose, or it can just be the thing that makes you happy in life.
Tunnel Vision
Yes, tunnel vision is good to have, but you can also get so caught that you forget to live in the moment and enjoy life.
We all have goals we want to achieve, but there is no need to sacrifice who we and the things we enjoy to reach our goals. Focusing too much on a goal can alienate us from others who may have been placed in our lives to help us.
In the movie, Mr. Gardner was so focused on becoming a Jazz Musician that he couldn’t see how great his life was just from teaching and interacting with people.
He focused so much on his goal. It became a part of everything in his life and all that he could think about. He also shut people out because they didn't understand his goal or showed him a different perspective. It wasn't until he watched someone else live his life that he saw the difference in interactions and understood how he had blocked so many people out of his life.
My suggestion to people walking the life purpose journey is not to let tunnel vision take over. Focus on your goal but take some time to enjoy your life and the experiences it brings you.
Find Your Spark
We all have a spark, and yes, we sometimes confuse our spark with our purpose, but we have to take the time to find our spark.
Finding or rediscovering your spark is a trial and error process. We all have different interests, and those interests may ignite some of us while others are still searching.
The only way to ensure that you find your spark is to try things and experience whatever it is that you are trying
entirely.
To fully experience whatever it is you are trying, you must be fully present to feel the feelings and emotions associated with the experience.
In the movie, 22 was an unborn who needed to find his spark with several mentors' help. No other mentor was able to help him find his spark.
Even at the beginning of his relationship with Mr. Gardner, he couldn't find his spark because he was resistant and not experiencing the different things.
It wasn't until both 22, and Mr. Gardner came back to Earth that 22 experienced the different things they were simulating in the realm.
Once he was able to experience eating pizza, walking, talking to other people about their life, and learning that not everyone ends up doing what they started off pursuing in life, he could find his spark.
Although Mr. Gardner believed that 22 was in his body, the actual reason was that 22 had connected with these experiences on a level that Mr. Gardner took for granted as most of us do.
22 was seeing things with a fresh pair of eyes.
That's what we have to do when we are looking for or rediscovering our spark. We have to look at the experiences from a fresh perspective because our views hold us back from fully experiencing life.
Find Someone Willing to Help
I'm not sure where the belief came from that we have to go through things alone, but the truth is, no, we don't.
We are to experience life alone. If that was the case, how else would any of us experience life or love?
We often help ourselves but helping others. An example of that from the movie was how Mr. Gardner came back to the realm to help find 22, so he could have the earth badge to be born and get to experience life fully.
In doing this for 22, he earned himself another opportunity to experience life. The goal of finding someone to help you or helping someone else is not to do it to get anything in return.
Yes, in the movie, Mr. Gardner started helping because of his desire to get back to Earth, but in the end, he realized that his reward was helping someone else realize their spark.
No, everyone will not want to help you out of the kindness of their heart, but if you take time and find someone willing to be open to receiving.
We all need help from time to time. Find someone who aligns with you and your goals. Trust in them, and the process and things will come together.
Enjoying life and all that it brings is will help you find or rediscover your spark.
Knowing there are many pieces to the puzzle doesn't mean you have to find the parts all at once. Or that you have to force the parts to fit.
Take your time and live genuinely live, and you will not only find your spark, but everything else will begin to fall into place.