Panning For Gold

A frustrated young man went to see the wise man in his village.

“I don’t know what to do with my life.  How do I find my purpose?” the young man asked.

“Follow me,” said the old man.

Silently, they trudged together to a far away river where they found dozens of prospectors
panning for gold.

“There are three types of prospectors here,” the sage said.

“What do you mean?” the young man inquired.

“There are those who strike gold straight away.  Excited, they take their plunder, cash it in and
live comfortably for the rest of their lives.  Then there are those who pan for years.  They know
that there is gold here and they have seen others strike it rich, so they persist until they too find
the gold that they’ve been searching for.”

“What about the third type?” asked the young man.

“They are the individuals who get frustrated that they haven’t found what they are looking for, so
after a day, a week or a year or more, they give up, walk away and never find gold.”

Slightly confused, the young man asked, “What has this got to do with finding my purpose?”

“Aah yes, the age-old question.” the old man smiled and looked his companion in the eye.
“There are those in life who look for their purpose and seem to find it almost immediately.  From
a young age they have a clear sense of purpose and pursue their dreams with energy and
enthusiasm.  Some others have to look a bit harder, perhaps for many years, but if they persist
and keep looking, they will find something to live for.  Finally, there are those who want to know
their purpose, but they become frustrated with the search and give up too soon, returning to a life
of meaningless wandering.”

“Can everyone find their purpose?”

“Is there gold in the river?”  the wise man responded.

“So, how do I find my own purpose?”

“Keep looking.”

“But what if I want to find it quicker?”

“Son, there are no guarantees that you will be able to find it quickly, the only guarantee is that if
you give up and stop looking for it, you’ll never find it.”

The young man looked despondent, feeling that he had wasted his time with the old man.

He felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder, “I can sense your frustration, but let me assure you, if
you can find your true calling in life, you will live with passion, make the world a better place,
be richer than you could imagine and feel as though the very face of God Himself is smiling
upon you.  That may happen next week, next year or in the years ahead, but the search will be
worth it and your life will never be the same again.  So for now, your purpose is to find your
purpose.”

“Thanks.”

“Oh, and there’s one other thing that I forgot to mention.”

“What’s that?”

“Just as those men and women need to get down to the river with a pan to find their gold, so we
need to remain active to find our purposes, we don’t find it sitting around at home doing
nothing.”

It was getting late, so the two men turned for home and began their long walk back to the village.

As they walked, the young man was deep in thought about what he had just learned, and the wise
man smiled to himself, knowing that conversations like this were an important part of living his
own purpose.

Now, over to you.

Do you know your purpose for life?

Are you still looking?

Or have you given up?