In my last post I told you about the difference between my Fundamental Purpose and my Purposes in Life. This post is about my Fundamental Purpose that I basically claimed some 70+ years ago and has stayed with me since then.

---

All my life I have reminded myself that even though I have constantly struggled through life there are many others who have troubles much worse than I do. Putting myself into those other people’s shoes is what empathy is all about, and it’s what I am all about. It is my fundamental purpose in life and has never changed. It’s what has driven me to be the person I am.

When I was about nine-years-old I started reading books by John Steinbeck. I learned later that he was a master at telling stories of empathy. A couple of books that come to mind is “Grapes of Wrath“and “Of Mice and Men“. I learned about people living day-to-day struggling during the “Great Depression” of the 1920s and 30s. And then there was Lennie who got himself into trouble just trying to cope with everyday life. I will always thank Steinbeck for introducing me to empathy at such a young age.

It was soon after this initial Steinbeck lesson that my mother abandoned me, and maybe more painfully, took my older brother with her. I learned a lot from him in the nine years we were together and was looking forward to many years of lessons.  Sadly, it ended up I only saw him a handful of times after that unannounced departure in the middle of the night. The last time was four years ago during a four day visit with him. He died two month later. 

Perhaps the most rewarding period of my empathic life was my eleven years of volunteering in a local soup kitchen. I am so thankful that I have had so many chances to exercise my almost overwhelming empathy.