What should be the purpose of life......for the:
1. Unmarried
&
2. child free
(All opinions and comments are appreciated)
Well I think I'm still having trouble finding the right words to express what I want to say, but I did want to respond to this:
I think the heart of this question is really more about who can I be deeply connected to and invest in when I have no spouse or children. And as I get older, I'm finding it more and more difficult to find opportunities to connect deeply with people. There are plenty of days when I feel lonely or irrelevant, but then I just have to remind myself about the opportunities I have: to give a compassionate word of advice to a fellow CCer who is hurting, to give some stupid little just because gift to someone I appreciate, to smile at a child at church or offer to keep an eye on the kid running around so their parents can talk to an adult for a bit, to invite another lonely single gal to lunch or a movie.
So I'm learning slowly to do my best to be a touch of God to whoever is around; to spread as much kindness, compassion, encouragement, and sometimes tough love as I can. And in return, even if I never marry and have kids, I do have a lot of people who care about me, and I about them, and I've made a lot of lives a little bit better. And this side of heaven, that will be enough.
In my experience the quickest way to connect with someone is to share in their pain or let them share in yours. Be the good listener and the one who always shows up when things are looking bleak and you'll find a lot of people to connect with. (Just be careful to know when to keep investing and when to cut ties with someone who is just going to be an emotional vampire and drain you. )