The title of this article points to what I believe is a very important truth about all of us, regardless of our age. That truth is that it is important to seek to live with purpose, however old or young we are. In fact, living with purpose might even be more challenging for us older folks these days and also be even more important. I would like to explore this topic in this article.

One of the things I have learned in the 80+ years I have lived is the impact of change in our lives. By this time of our lives, we have lived through different seasons – childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, middle adulthood and older adulthood. Lots of miles on our odometers! Each of these seasons had different challenges which impacted the meaning and purpose of that season. Trying to grasp what it meant to be a child can be very different from seeking to live as a senior. On the other hand, both the child and the senior are trying to figure out how to live with some direction and focus, especially when we don’t know exactly what to do. I can remember trying to figure out how to navigate school as a child and in many ways, it is similar for me as a senior, figuring out how to live with increasing limitations and lesser energies. So, our purpose in life usually and normally changes as we age.  And change is a normal part of living – no change, no life. How can we continue to find a purposeful life as we age is a challenge facing all of us today.

I believe our purpose in life directly relates to what each of us values and believes about life. Different people have different values, which leads to lots of diversity in how people live life these days. What is important is that each of us struggle to find and identify the values that speak to what we believe – and not just what someone else says we should believe and value. This involves honoring our own experiences and what life has taught us about what is important about our lives. I see this struggling to find what we value continues until we breathe our last breath.

This on-going struggle is even more important today where there are so many differences among people as well as so much conflict. This is also true in our families where there is often dread about coming together as families because of the differences in what our family members value and believe. One value I have learned when there are disagreements happening is to be quiet or ask a question rather than make a statement that could easily escalate the level of disagreement.

So, our purpose flows from what we value and flows into how we want to live. One of my values is expressing gratitude and thanks for what I have been given. So, then, one of my purposes is to give thanks to people who have gifted me — at home, with friends, with people I hardly know. Giving thanks is my purpose. Another value is finding groups to which I can belong who can support me and I, them in living with purpose. So, I belong to a Church and two men’s groups when I experience this, as well as at home with a supportive wife.  Our values differ and vary, and the need to live out our values is a challenge for all of us and is at the foundation of living a life filled with purpose.

To live without purpose is to live out of focus – things tend to be blurry, we are unsure which way to go. Living with purpose gives us some focus and some clarity. I would invite you to take some time to write down some of your values and to translate them into purpose statements – as I did above. It is often helpful to share our values and purpose statements with people we trust. This enlarges and expands our lives. There is much evidence that living with purpose leads to more healthy lives. I urge you regardless of your age – to seek to live with purpose, whatever that purpose might be!

Mark Scannell is a senior, living in Minneapolis, continuing to try to find his purpose in life. He is open to dialoguing about the ideas expressed in this article and can be reached at [email protected].