Purgatory, Passion and Purpose

I always considered the notion of Purgatory as odd. So supposedly there is a GOD WHO operates outside of time and space and somehow cares that we spend time in a loop paying for our sins before we can go HOME. But then, if you leave GOD out of the picture and consider the requirement for a temporary time-out to be part of the spiritual HOMECOMING, for the simple reason that we need to let go of some of our own psychological baggage before we can move to the next spiritual level. Then suddenly this concept makes a whole lot of more sense. So much about our spiritual struggle is to bring our subconscious up to speed with our conscious will. We may have already turned our steering wheel towards GOD, but it takes a while before the super-tanker called "I" has made this adjustment as well. 

Purgatory is not so much about experiencing our desires fade - though this happens too with the great healer called time. It is the time required for the material world to move into place so that we can truly express our passion while expressing our spiritual mission at the same time. Purgatory is the time needed for purpose and passion to come together; a temporary waiting loop designed to reorienting our desires towards a more purposeful and wholesome direction. But once we truly commit to this path, our spiritual progress happens pretty quickly. GOD has no time to waste when it comes to reuniting with us.

 I consider my current occupation as a purgatory of sorts. I have been in my current profession as a financial strategist for a couple of decades now. For years I thought that figuring things out analytically was really what made me tick. Today, however, I understand I also secretly wanted to be admired. It took me the longest time to admit this to myself given that is clashes with my spiritual super ego. Well, this job all about admiration as long as you happen to be so lucky to get your case right. So I have my occasional moments in the lime light, but today the "success" that would have been quite meaningful for me in the olden days, I find less fulfilling today. Something in me has shifted. While I still honor my desire to be considered special, over the years I have shifted more of my effort towards spiritually more rewarding missions, such as building a team, and mentoring and supporting others. Who knows how much longer before my job here is done, but either way, I know that my desire to stand in the lime light will be behind me.

The notion of purgatory is a negative one. Purgatory speaks of a fire that burns the negative desires away. It doesn't have to be that way at all. We can light the fire of purpose and passion ourselves, and by doing so can literally burn our desires away while engaging in what is meaningful to us. Purpose and passion hand in hand allow us to run to GOD, driven by the fire that once distracted us do much. So what if we are not quite HOME yet, but by following our path we create something beautiful here on earth. Don't think of the temporary time loop as purgatory; think of it as a process of creative expression. GOD not only patiently waiting for us, SHE is equally excited to co-create something meaningful here on earth together with us. Let's finish our job and return HOME.