what am I here for?

 Today is the 6th day of the of the 10th week, the 6th day of the 3rd month, the 65th day of  2026 [with only 293 shopping days left before Christmas], and:

• Alamo Day
• Day of the Dude - marks the day when  The Big Lebowski was released 28 years ago
• Dress in Blue Day - well I managed to do this today if nothing else.  March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and that is what took Tommy away from us far too soon....
• Employee Appreciation Day 
• European Day of the Righteous - a day to commemorate all those who have stood up and opposed crimes against humanity using nothing but their own moral responsibility. 
• Hockey Jersey Day
• Independence Day - Ghana from the UK in 1957
• Middle Name Pride Day - in our family, the middle name is the one passed down for generations.  My mother's middle name was Anne, her mother's middle name was Anna, my middle name is Ann, and so is my daughter's as well as the youngest granddaughter.  Tommy's middle name was Carroll, the same as his father's and grandfather's.  
• National Day of Unplugging - just by working on this blog I have proven that this was not done, neh?
• National Dentist's Day
• National Dress Day
• National Frozen Food Day
• National Oreo Cookie Day
• National Speech and Debate Education Day 
• National White Chocolate Cheesecake Day
• Sofia Kovalevskaya Math Day
• World Day of Prayer
• the moon is waning gibbous and 90% of full
• Voyager 1 is still outward bound even tho we don't have a reading on where it is daily

Quote of the day:

"No one can figure out your worth but you."

~ Pearl Bailey 

That was the quote of the day from BrainyQuote - and then today the reading for Lent was the Gospel story of the parable of the vineyard [Matthew 21:33-43,45-46] and the sermon was about how we are not owners of this world, but tenants, and therefore responsible for the welfare of the vineyard even as we enjoy it - a pretty standard message about the need for humans to be stewards of the Earth rather than defilers or destroyers of it.   

But then Bishop Robert Barron made a summary comment:  "Our lives are not about us."  

And I went into a fugue, questioning myself and all the times I obsessed about my purpose in life.  Have I been asking the wrong question?  Should the question been not "what is my purpose" but "how can I serve others"?  Is that why I don't always have a sense of direction, or have self-esteem issues?  

Now of course the good Bishop's theological answer is that our lives are about God, asking how I am using the gifts that were given to me -  time, talents, creativity, relationships, money - in His service, and I get that.  Maybe I am not centered enough or a strong enough believer, but that answer seems a bit...  pat.  

On the other hand, I am not convinced  by the typical search for purpose either -  why does my profession or what I am paid to do reflect on my purpose in life?  I mean, if we are lucky we get to work in our passion, if not, then we work to live, and what we do for a living does not define us as a person.

So, if my life is not about me, who am I?  Soon I will be 76 and I still am not sure - always was better at questions than answers....