There are so many things to dedicate your life to when you stop and think about it. I think when you pick a cause greater than yourself to focus on then it helps you get through life. This is just my personal opinion, of course. I've thought about this for years and was finally able to narrow my focus down to one thing. Have you taken the time to think about the many interesting things to dedicate your life to?
Of all the things to dedicate your life to, love is my absolute favorite choice. This is personally what I have chosen to commit my life to because it's universal and well, I think it chose me. When you hear the word "love," what comes to mind? There's relational love like we see in the movies. There is the love of animals and humanity. And there is love that can't be explained. If you dedicate your life to love, be prepared to do a ton of inner work.
Faith is a beautiful thing to dedicate your life to, especially if it is rooted in true love. There are many branches of religious faiths to dedicate your life to. If you weren't raised in a particular faith, you can always go on a journey to discover the faith for you. One of my favorite movies that shows this process is a French movie called "God Is Great and I Am Not," starring Audrey Tautou. If you dedicate your life to faith, be prepared to make decisions that may seem irrational to the casual observer, because we walk by faith and not by sight.
Children are our future, so they are a logical thing to dedicate your life to. You can find many ways in our society to do this. If you have great patience you could consider becoming a teacher. If you really want to do something out of the ordinary you could become a social worker and dedicate your life to orphans who need good homes. I'm sure we all can think of one adult who impacted our lives in a positive way. Wouldn't it be awesome to do the same for a child?
I live in Los Angeles, CA, where there is definitely not a shortage of homeless people. It's really sad. The story behind it is that the mentally ill patients were released on the streets in the '80s because of a lack of funding and they have remained there ever since. You may not live around the corner from Skid Row, but I'm sure there are homeless people in your city. Do you have a heart for them? Do you find that you always stop to help them out with food or money if you can? If so, this is a group of people that will probably always exist and could definitely use assistance and love.
Do you have a dream to see all people live in equality? This means that you have a heart to see all people treated as equals. I think this is an amazing thing to dedicate your life to because so many other categories can fall under this, like children and the homeless. Can you think of a group of people today in our society who aren't treated with equality? There are many organizations you can become a part of to get started on your journey to fight for others.
Does art imitate life or does life imitate art? That is the question. Well, one of the many questions we have to ponder. All of us have a creative side to us whether we have discovered it or not. If you love art and appreciate it then maybe you should consider dedicating your life to it. You could write books to touch generations to come or create music to help people get through the ups and downs of life. There are so many branches of art you can dedicate your life to.
I don't think that you have to choose faith or science, you can have an interest in both. But if you struggle with faith, science could be a branch of discovery and belief that you can dedicate your life to. Science is an incredible tool that helps us discover the unknown and is definitely something you could focus on for the rest of your life.
Can you think of other things to dedicate your life to? Do you think it's a good thing to pick something greater than ourselves to focus on? I'd love to hear your thoughts.