I don’t know anyone who doesn’t want to be necessary. Even when the demands become too much to bear. In those moments we wish we could escape but what we really want is to catch our breath. We don’t desire permanent seclusion. Not if we’re healthy. So it makes sense that we have a hard time letting go of things. Harder still is when we’re stripped of purpose without having a say.
The prisoner.
The refugee.
The widow.
The orphan.
The rejected.
The retired.
The empty nester.
The down-sized.
The homeless.
The institutionalized.
If you feel necessary today you are fortunate. A day is coming for us all when that will be challenged. How we handle it will determine whether we continue to be necessary or not. Purpose is a choice only you can make. Not all purposes are permanent. We can be necessary no matter who we are and where we find ourselves.
We all want to be important and central to the groups we belong to. In other words, we need to be needed. This perhaps is why we aren’t individually exceptional in every way. It forces us to rely on each other.
