Within the next month my organization, Youth Directions, will be launching a new venture that we are calling the Youth Success Lab. The Youth Success Lab is a space young people come to to explore themselves and their purpose in life. For the last few years I have dedicated myself to helping youth find their inner calling and their life’s purpose. The importance of purpose is found in the Torah in numerous places. Here is an example from the weeks’ Torah Portion.
Regarding the lighting of the candelabra in the Tabernacle, the Torah relates that each morning Aaron the High Priest had to clean out the used wicks and burn them on the alter (See Rashi’s commentary on Exodus 30:7). Why is it that the High Priest himself had to do the cleaning. Wouldn’t he have an assistant or a janitor do that for him? Surely this was not a job for the High Priest himself.
The Torah is trying to teach us a vital lesson here. I often find myself spending time doing things that, whilst necessary for the organisation, don’t relate directly to my passion. But without carrying out the tasks that are less enjoyable I will not be able to achieve the objectives that I am passionate about.
Similarly, in the High Priest’s case, the cleaning of the candelabra is a prerequisite to its daily lighting, one cannot have one without the other. Thus, to Aaron the cleaning of the wicks were as important as actually lighting the candelabra. He cleaned the candelabra with the same joy as he had while lighting it.
Everything in the world has an inner reason and its conduit. Whilst I see immense value in putting ideas to paper, for example, I actually find the act writing a chore. However, because the inner, primary purpose predominates, the conduit ceases to be a chore and becomes a labour of love.
In order to enjoy every aspect of our lives, it is vital that we identify our overarching purpose. Each individual has something unique that they can achieve for themselves and the universe–goals and actions that they can be passionate about. By identifying what those are and then attaching every task and act to our passionate goals, every act becomes infused with meaning and passion.
This is why we are opening the Youth Success Lab–we want to give all people the opportunity to go through a process of inner exploration that culminates in them finding their own life’s positive purpose. This way they will be able to infuse every act, no matter how mundane, with the joy and passion of their life’s purpose.