“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
Howard Thurman
I personally feel lighter when I read this quote. Putting the needs of the world above my own aliveness may seem ethical, or noble, to the mind. But this quote presupposes that we are only going to help the world if we can do what makes us come alive.
Some might say, “But drugs and other addictions make some people come alive! What about a sociopath who claims to come alive from hurting others?” But I don’t think anything reactive or addictive or harmful to others or ourselves makes us truly “come alive.” Coming alive doesn’t mean we get a temporary jolt or superficial high, that masks our pain. Whenever we harm ourselves or others, this is what we are doing. It is the opposite of coming alive. To buy into this quote requires the belief that all life, including humans, are coming alive when we grow and help others grow. That can appear in myriad ways.
I think the beauty of this quote is that it points us to our hearts for guidance. When we ask what “the world” (others) need, this is an inquiry in the head. So we do what we think sounds right and good, but often without true energy or generosity behind it. We can’t feel “the world” with our individual body. But we can feel our own body, and do more of what makes the life in it stir. And that way we bring life into the world.