What is Mine to Do? Part 1
May 26, 2026
What Is Mine to Do? Part 1
You are invited to this week’s Daily Reflections on the question, “What Is Mine to Do?”
The purpose of our life is not one goal; it is not about the end game or the bottom line. Our purpose is who we are. It is at the core of our identity, our spirituality, and our destiny. It is integral to the “why” of our existence. Our purpose is to express the aspect of the Divine we were created to express. If we live in this expression, we know deep down that we are on the right track. If we feel unaligned with our purpose, or if we do not know it, fragmentation and dissatisfaction linger. Many of us in that situation jump from one line of work, hobby, or relationship to another. Or if we settle on one, but do not really feel “at home” with it, we develop impostor syndrome—never feeling authentic.
For most of us, once we recognize our true purpose, expressing it is a lifelong process. It goes through seasons as it ripens and differentiates. But its essential aim remains the same: to express and do the work of the Divine in the way we were created to do it. Yes, each of us was created to express the Divine right here on earth in a special one-of-a-kind way.
Getting to that unique purpose of ours is sometimes a challenge. In my own life, I had to go through several tries before I found the purpose that was in my heart all along, but was covered over by cultural and family expectations. As the oldest son, it fell on me to work in my father’s business and to one day own it. Dad was a self-made man who started his own food brokerage business after returning from WWII. His company was successful. From childhood, my dad had nurtured me to become part of the company that he was so proud of. Even from age three, every Saturday morning, he would take me with him down to his office while he caught up on paperwork and met with fellow businesspeople for coffee. Being my dad’s son seemed, in large part, to mean being part of his company. I get that.
I went to work for my dad the summer I turned sixteen — a decision I did not make— it was expected. So, I worked in his business each summer — even in my college years. Yet one summer, late in my college career, I did not go home to work in the business. I broke the tradition and joined a summer work team to build cabins for a children’s camp in northern Michigan. My father couldn’t understand my need to do anything other than be part of the family company. I still do not know how I pulled it off; maybe it was the profound conviction in my voice when, on the phone, I told him I had this opportunity and truly needed it. After some push back, Dad finally gave his blessing for me to go. And I never worked at Howell Brokerage Company again.
It was that summer, doing construction work deep in the northern Michigan Forrest, that NASA Astronauts walked on the moon. I recall Neil Armstrong’s voice as he set foot on the moon’s surface. “…one small step for man, one large step for mankind.” My work team and I saw the history-making landing on a rigged-up TV in our cabin. Armstrong’s words resonated in my soul because I, too, had taken one small step for my personhood but a larger step for my future… my soul. In my own life, I was freer than ever. I was over the moon.
It was hard to tell my father that his dream for me would not come true. Layers upon layers of my identity had been lacquered in the expectation that I, with my brother Trevor, would one day be the co-owners. But this was not in the cards for either of us. Each Howell found their own purpose and accompanying that search were a lot of struggles. But the reward was worth it. Now I was free to find the purpose that had been covered over my whole life. And I began with gusto. I was on the road to learning what was truly mine to do.
Spiritual practice: What do you have to discontinue because your heart was not in it? Was it a struggle within your purpose, or was it the result of being apart from your true purpose? Journal about your decisions and how the outcomes affected you.
Self-inquiry: Why is it difficult for so many of us to know our true purpose?
Prayer:
Dear God, I am so humbled by all the small steps that add up to so much. Amen
