6th Sunday 02/08/26

ING: ImagineNewGreatness
4 hours ago
2 min read

The Mission and the Masterpiece

I lost myself in a novel this week, and it was absolutely wonderful! Some days, I find that fiction is far superior to fact—and I say that only half in jest. The book that took my mind on a much-needed vacation is titled Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn (2022). It follows a group of senior women who have spent their lives in a most unusual profession: as elite assassins.

While the plot is thrilling, the thought processes of these characters started me thinking and reaffirming a core truth: we are all equipped for something specific. We all possess a unique set of skills and a calling, yet the journey to find that purpose is often just as complicated as the execution of the plan itself. We are all on a mission, but as I have realized this week, figuring out what that mission is can be a job in its own right.

This brings to mind the work of developmental psychologist Erik Erikson (1950), who emphasized that our lives are a series of stages where we must resolve specific challenges to find our identity and purpose. Whether we are in our youth or our "certain age," the process of self-discovery never truly ends. Working through the process is just as special as the outcome.

As Abraham Maslow (1943) famously noted in his hierarchy of needs, the pinnacle of human experience is self-actualization—the realization of one's full potential. But we must remember that self-actualization is not a static destination; it is a continuous "becoming."

I am ready to take on the world today. Life is good, the sun is shining, and I am embracing the beauty of the "work in progress." The mission may be complex, but the journey of figuring it out is exactly where the magic happens.