"Do you know why you are born?" I have always been asked that question, and I have always asked myself the question too.
When I was younger, the answer was very simple. Catholic family so my answer would 'naturally' be "To serve God". As I grew older, it slowly became not so much about serving God. Or actually, maybe it was more about serving God because I started to see God in everything beautiful in this world. But as I grew older, I believed less and less in the Catholic faith and I looked elsewhere to find my answer for the question "Do you know why you are born?"
When I was a teenager, the answer was still simple, but it changed from time to time. My answer would be "To have fun". I did not care for responsibility or growing up because I thought I had a lot of time in this world. Then mamma became sick and I got scared because I did not want to lose her (I did not but that is another story).
Mamma recovered but I became rebellious and started to think everything was my right to have, my right to do and my right to own. I think I became scared of losing things, because I had become so scared of losing mamma. I wanted to make sure I had everything I deserved before I died. So my answer became "To get what rightfully belongs to me, and to defend what rightfully belongs to you".
Mamma was wonderful. Mamma let me be for a little while before telling me, "Gabriella, I do not like the person you are becoming. I did not raise you to be this way. Do not let me lose you." It was a tough wake-up call.
Now that I am older (I do not need a reminder of how old!!), I can see why mamma told me that all those years ago. I was not happy being so righteous and wanting everything to be my way, and I was not making anyone happy also. Mamma for example, was very unhappy that I had become so selfish. I was hurting others to get what I wanted.
So I stopped it although it comes back every now and then. But now I think my answer to the question "Do you know why you are born?" is "To make others happy". Because when they are happy, they are standing by me because they know I care for them, and I do not want to get anything from them.
I think in that, I also see God because God is compassionate and kind, and He loves me as much as He loves everyone else. God is not biased and He is not selfish - in believing that I was born to make others happy, I feel closer to Him than I did as a card-carrying Catholic child. So even though I am no longer Catholic in name, maybe I am now more Catholic in spirit ;-)
Happy Easter!
