I was reading along nodding and enjoying your essay and then got to the piece about your Aunt's unethical maneuver. From way over here, a complete stranger, I am angry and frustrated at this utter lack of integrity in another human being. If she felt the need to get the will changed she should have mentioned it to her brothers before your Grandma's death. However with no integrity it's easy to be sneaky. A truly heartbreaking situation.
Jen, this is really beautiful, thank you! Your work always resonates, but today most especially. I want to share, as a hand analyst (no, it's not palmistry; it's backed by decades of psychological and neuroscientific research), that we find our life school(s), life purpose, and our life lesson(s) in our fingerprints, which are fully formed in utero by 16 weeks....before we're even born, we've chosen our path! We're all most definitely here to learn, to grow, and to contribute in meaningful ways to the expansion of collective consciousness. The best starting point is to ask those challenging questions and then live into the answers. 💫
I'm sorry for your loss. 💔 As someone who was disinherited myself, I know how that can tear a family apart. Some among us will learn hard lessons about allowing fear to override loyalty, love, and what's really important. Wishing your heart ease and joy. 💗
Thank you for sharing Jen. So sorry to hear of your fathers / family’s issues too but suffice to say my family lines have experienced similar events. What is it in this world that makes people behave this way when loved ones die? What is it about death and money that always seems to drive family’s apart in our society … who knows - but it saddens me. Wishing you much love and success with your purpose anyway ! 🤗👍🏻
Love this! I see a lot of people on Substack contemplating that there is no meaning or purpose to life, or resigning themselves to settle, detaching from ambition and this pains me because I also deeply believe we all have unique gifts to share, that we were born with a fate carved into our hearts, not necessarily for greatness on the world stage, but to be, like you say, a great parent or farmer or even beautiful presence. I think purpose and meaning have a lot to do with God and people don’t like to believe in God, and I think that’s part of the great meaningless crisis, all while people convince themselves they don’t need meaning in life to be happy. We all need a sense of meaning and purpose! To feel connected to the Earth and like our gifts and presence matters. Applying ourselves to achieve meaningful goals, transcending our past pain and accepting our current life circumstances so we can grow beyond them - this is the crux of our soul’s journey.
In life, we go through many different experiences, we fight against time, we learn love, we know betrayal, and we learn to prepare for death. Some people suffer and cannot bear the difficulty of surviving, and fall into hell. Some people fail repeatedly and achieve success. There are many things that do not go as planned. There are people all over the world who struggle through difficult times, learning sincerely the wisdom, patience, and courage to overcome, knowing that there is no future unless they climb the mountain. It is difficult to face justice in the right way, but your words gave me courage. I want to hang on to it and do my best. Thank you. I want to convey my gratitude. Thank you.
Isn’t that what Dicken’s “Bleak House” was about - the destruction of ethics, or the revelation that any professed ethics were just a mirage for some, when it comes time to inherit. Unbelievable what your dad had to experience.
Yes! Nailed it! Seems inheritance brings out the worst in people. Maybe better to leave nothing behind and let folks fend for themselves - build their own character and confidence via survival - no? Or maybe awesome Socialism so all can have dignity via basic survival resources provided by the state and not have to become sharks clawing for a few bucks. Anyway nice big 5! God Bless!
This piece really hit home for me. I've been grappling with similar questions about values and purpose lately, and it's refreshing to hear someone else articulate those struggles so eloquently. It's a good reminder that we're not alone in this journey of self-discovery. Aligning our actions with our values is foundational advice – it's a simple yet powerful concept that is so easy to forget. Thank you for the reminder.
Thanks, Jen! After beginning ketamine therapy last November to help address lifelong depression, the "truth" that we choose who we travel with and what we'll experience during our lifetime quickly became apparent. As an atheist, it has been interesting integrating this insight into my overall worldview. In your experience, how do we uncover our ikigai and avoid chasing, meaninglessness, bitterness, and depression?
I was reading along nodding and enjoying your essay and then got to the piece about your Aunt's unethical maneuver. From way over here, a complete stranger, I am angry and frustrated at this utter lack of integrity in another human being. If she felt the need to get the will changed she should have mentioned it to her brothers before your Grandma's death. However with no integrity it's easy to be sneaky. A truly heartbreaking situation.
Jen, this is really beautiful, thank you! Your work always resonates, but today most especially. I want to share, as a hand analyst (no, it's not palmistry; it's backed by decades of psychological and neuroscientific research), that we find our life school(s), life purpose, and our life lesson(s) in our fingerprints, which are fully formed in utero by 16 weeks....before we're even born, we've chosen our path! We're all most definitely here to learn, to grow, and to contribute in meaningful ways to the expansion of collective consciousness. The best starting point is to ask those challenging questions and then live into the answers. 💫
I'm sorry for your loss. 💔 As someone who was disinherited myself, I know how that can tear a family apart. Some among us will learn hard lessons about allowing fear to override loyalty, love, and what's really important. Wishing your heart ease and joy. 💗
Thank you for sharing Jen. So sorry to hear of your fathers / family’s issues too but suffice to say my family lines have experienced similar events. What is it in this world that makes people behave this way when loved ones die? What is it about death and money that always seems to drive family’s apart in our society … who knows - but it saddens me. Wishing you much love and success with your purpose anyway ! 🤗👍🏻
Very sorry to hear of the family disruption Jen. Beautiful post.
Love this! I see a lot of people on Substack contemplating that there is no meaning or purpose to life, or resigning themselves to settle, detaching from ambition and this pains me because I also deeply believe we all have unique gifts to share, that we were born with a fate carved into our hearts, not necessarily for greatness on the world stage, but to be, like you say, a great parent or farmer or even beautiful presence. I think purpose and meaning have a lot to do with God and people don’t like to believe in God, and I think that’s part of the great meaningless crisis, all while people convince themselves they don’t need meaning in life to be happy. We all need a sense of meaning and purpose! To feel connected to the Earth and like our gifts and presence matters. Applying ourselves to achieve meaningful goals, transcending our past pain and accepting our current life circumstances so we can grow beyond them - this is the crux of our soul’s journey.
In life, we go through many different experiences, we fight against time, we learn love, we know betrayal, and we learn to prepare for death. Some people suffer and cannot bear the difficulty of surviving, and fall into hell. Some people fail repeatedly and achieve success. There are many things that do not go as planned. There are people all over the world who struggle through difficult times, learning sincerely the wisdom, patience, and courage to overcome, knowing that there is no future unless they climb the mountain. It is difficult to face justice in the right way, but your words gave me courage. I want to hang on to it and do my best. Thank you. I want to convey my gratitude. Thank you.
Isn’t that what Dicken’s “Bleak House” was about - the destruction of ethics, or the revelation that any professed ethics were just a mirage for some, when it comes time to inherit. Unbelievable what your dad had to experience.
Well put in every way. Good use of writing/Substack THANKS JEN.
Yes! Nailed it! Seems inheritance brings out the worst in people. Maybe better to leave nothing behind and let folks fend for themselves - build their own character and confidence via survival - no? Or maybe awesome Socialism so all can have dignity via basic survival resources provided by the state and not have to become sharks clawing for a few bucks. Anyway nice big 5! God Bless!
This piece really hit home for me. I've been grappling with similar questions about values and purpose lately, and it's refreshing to hear someone else articulate those struggles so eloquently. It's a good reminder that we're not alone in this journey of self-discovery. Aligning our actions with our values is foundational advice – it's a simple yet powerful concept that is so easy to forget. Thank you for the reminder.
Excellent article.
“It’s ambition, application, action.”
I would add ‘accomplishment’. When we accomplish something, anything, we prove our existence.
So many people experience this deathbed betrayal. I think it's more common than we think.
This was deeply lost in it while reading, this is an Awesome Piece Thank you Jen. 🙏👏
Thanks, Jen! After beginning ketamine therapy last November to help address lifelong depression, the "truth" that we choose who we travel with and what we'll experience during our lifetime quickly became apparent. As an atheist, it has been interesting integrating this insight into my overall worldview. In your experience, how do we uncover our ikigai and avoid chasing, meaninglessness, bitterness, and depression?
So much richness in this whole piece Jen. I’m sorry about your family issues. 😞
Thank you for this!