Why

To live is not just to be alive. To breath is not just to take in air, only to let it out. To jump is not only to fall. To dance is not only to move. To sing is not only to make noise. To dream is not only to imagine an unreal reality. To eat is not only to be filled. To create is not only to be entertained. To read is not only to learn. To sit is not just to be lazy. To sleep is not only for rest. To smile is not always to be happy.

To fight doesn't mean you will win. To lose isn't always a failure. To speak is to stutter. To run is to falter. To love is to hurt. To fix things is to break them. To try, is to get knocked down. To stand, is to trip. To tell the truth is to lose a friend. To hold a hand is to gain one. To help is to be rejected. To cry is to be forgotten. To laugh is to lift spirits. To hug is to push the fear aside. Sometimes to die is to survive.

Each thing has a reason. Each being has a life. Each life will end. How will it end, and why? Why do you live and why do you breathe? Why do you jump when you could fall? Is it because of that one chance you have of landing upright and on your feet? Why should we dance when the world is a mess? Why do we sing if there is pain? Why do we dream and imagine something that cannot be? How do we eat when people are starving? Why do we create when there seems to be no beauty? Why do we read if we never have time?

If to sit doesn't always mean you’re lazy, what does it mean? Did you take the time to just talk to someone you care about? To sleep is to rest, and also to gain peace. Why do we smile if we are not happy? Why lift up your fists when you know failure is imminent? And why do you still get up when you've been beaten? how can you lose and yet, still win?

If to speak is to stutter, why speak? If to run is to falter, why run? Why love if it hurts? Why fix things if they only end up breaking? Why even try at all? Why speak truth when it doesn't profit you? Why help only to be turned away? How can you die, and yet survive?

It all boils down to one thing. One word. Purpose.

Purpose keeps you going. Helps you to jump and land on your feet. To dance, sing and dream. To create and learn. To sit. To sleep. To smile. To fight and to win. To lose and not be a failure. To speak, run, love. To fix. To try and stand back up. To speak the truth and hold a hand. To help despite rejection. To cry and renew yourself. To laugh amid the fear. To embrace those you love.

Purpose is the direction. The reason. The pull. The force God grants us to do His work. It’s the belief. The surging within you. Playing with your emotions and stirring up your courage. Purpose. Pation. Mission. Belief. Good. God. This is why. 

- Missy Nelson