This morning I read a NY Times article entitled The Moral Bucket List. I then posted a link to it on Facebook with this quote taken from it:

“Commencement speakers are always telling young people to follow their passions. Be true to yourself. This is a vision of life that begins with self and ends with self. But people on the road to inner light do not find their vocations by asking, what do I want from life? They ask, what is life asking of me? How can I match my intrinsic talent with one of the world’s deep needs?“

As I read it, I thought about my sister-in-law, Charity, who is the executive director of Gentle Hands, and an excellent example of the type of person described by David Brooks in the piece: “They are not thinking about what wonderful work they are doing. They are not thinking about themselves at all.”

A friend thanked me for sharing it and added a link to a short TED Talk entitled, “How to know your life purpose in 5 minutes”. I don’t often watch TED talks (or many other videos, I prefer print) but I was on a train so I did and it resonated with me. I followed his steps and was able to make my life purpose fit with my current plan to go to Bolivia to share my love of books and reading with children and adults to increase their opportunities to improve their lives.

Many hours later, back home after a long walk along the Via Jacobi, I was catching up on Facebook and came across a link to this post from the International School Community Sell Your Crap. Pay Off Your Debt. Do What You Love. The title peaked my interest and I decided to watch the TED Talk of the same name that was in the post as I peeled apples for an apple crisp. In the talk, Adam Baker shared a quote from Nigel Marsh:

When I finished listening to the talk, I went and found Nigel Marsh’s talk about How to make work-life balance work which includes the quote and watched it as well.

All of these taken together make me realize I am happy because I am doing what I believe in and I have the freedom to do so. (And that maybe sometimes it is worthwhile to watch the odd TED talk.)

The apple crisp is now out of the oven and I think I will sit and enjoy some before I start sifting through my stuff and getting rid of most of it in preparation for my move in a few months.