Rabbi Chaim Zwick
The sense that something is missing, a longing for something just beyond our grasp, is a universal human experience. As psychologists, philosophers, poets and religious leaders have expressed it – “a yearning that knows no satisfaction.”
What is this yearning, and where does it come from?
This longing arises from the divine soul within us. Our soul seeks completion & fulfillment, and we feed this burning desire of our soul with endless materialism. With all of our success and achievement, mankind remains disillusioned. He lacks peace, happiness & fulfillment, and he doesn’t know why.
Since we don’t recognize and acknowledge the existence of a divine soul and a divine plan that drives human behavior, our lives and our potential are reduced by the limits of our perception. Our thinking becomes finite and temporal rather than infinite and expansive. We lack vision and we have no way to understand this relentless force within us. This approach to life is by definition flawed and limited. It lacks a full comprehensive understanding of man-kind’s most basic needs.
The Challenge of Our Times
Do you sometimes feel that your life lacks meaning, purpose and fulfillment? That you lack clarity and direction? That you have so much potential and could achieve so much, yet for some reason you are blocked? Do you feel that there must be more to life? That you have a calling, but somehow it eludes you?
If you have answered yes to any of the above questions, realize that you are not alone. The reality of the human condition and the primary challenge of our times, is to realize and unleash the greatness of the human potential. As our rabbis tell us, “There is a deep, innate almost inexpressible yearning within each of us to connect to our divine soul.”
A Purpose Driven Life
We are living at a time of unprecedented wealth and achievement. We seem to have everything, and despite all this – the world around us is plagued by increasingly serious problems. Many people feel empty, alienated, dissatisfied and unhappy. People are searching to fill the void and emptiness of a life lived without purpose and meaning. As Victor Frankel says, “Our search for meaning is the primary motivation in our lives.”
In a recent mental health survey of 48 colleges – 16% of students said their highest goal was making money, in contrast to 78% that said, finding meaning and purpose was their highest goal. Another survey of Adults found that 68% said their highest goal was to have a meaningful philosophy of life.
To crack the destiny code, you must discover your unique place in the universe. Every person was born encoded with divine DNA. Some people discover their destiny quickly. Some take decades to do so, and others never even look for it. Those who discover it, just sense that they are in the flow of life, and they are doing what they were born to do. Our sages call it, “The Purpose Driven Life.” Those who crack their destiny code live passionate, inspired lives and are truly blessed. To everyone else, life is flat, dull and uninspired.
